Hip pain can be worrying, especially if you are thinking it is your joint and you are in your 50s or 60s or older. Often people assume they have arthritis in the hip. They come to me worrying about whether I am going to say they need to see the GP and then a consultant because their hip is worn down. Sometimes, it is true, this can be the case. wear and tear or degenerative change does happen over time and after the age of 25 we are all slowly deteriorating! Great news! Aging is normal.

However, often people come to me and describe they have hip pain. On further investigation I realise they are not talking about the hip joint. Commonly, hip joint pain shows itself in the groin, the pain is in the crease at the top of the thigh. I see people with worries about needing a hip replacement but what they are describing is lateral hip pain, pain on the outer side of the hip area.

How people describe the symptoms is part of the picture and the onset. A diagnosis is never one thing alone.

Women are more likely to suffer this when they are around the peri-menopause or menopause years. But they are by no means the only ones. Lateral hip pain can affect younger active people or older men.

What is it then if it isn’t my joint?

If after assessment your joint is cleared. There are several different tissues on the outer thigh that can be causing this, there are little fluid filled sacks called bursas, they can become inflamed and irritated, tendons can become irritated too. Also, the gluteal muscle can have a tear. These can happen individually or a few together. They cause pain on walking, going upstairs, standing.

What causes it?

It can be a change in activity, either an increase or decrease in activity. Have you had a recent lifestyle change or weight loss or gain? Have you taken up a new activity and increased the amount you do, or have you previously been quite active, stopped for a while and then tried to start again?

Irritatingly, you could be trying to become fitter or improve your activity levels only to come to a halt due to pain!

What to do about it?

First thing is to try to reduce the irritability of it. This can be by using ice over the area, or anti inflammatories if they are ok for you (speak to a pharmacist or GP if you are unsure or you are on other medication which may conflict with it). Trying to reduce the activities for a time that irritate it. For example, If that is after a certain distance of walking, reduce your walking. Pace activities that require you being on your feet. Or if you have an exercise regime reduce it to a level where you weren’t getting the pain.

There are exercises which can help alleviate the pain. These need to be suitable for where you are after diagnosis and progressed appropriately. That’s the good news. The bad news is it can take several weeks or even a few months to get to where you want to be, especially if you leave it ages to get it looked at.