Disclaimer: This article provides general information and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Recovery and treatment needs vary between individuals. If you have ongoing or worsening symptoms, consult a qualified healthcare professional for personalised advice.
Pain on the outside of your hip can make surprisingly ordinary activities uncomfortable. A walk around the shops, climbing stairs or even lying on your side in bed may become difficult. If you’ve been told you have hip bursitis, exercise is often an important part of managing the problem, but choosing the right exercises matters.
Hip bursitis exercises often focus on gradually building strength around the hip while avoiding movements or positions that aggravate sensitive tissues. The aim is to help the muscles and tendons around your hip tolerate everyday loads while avoiding positions that unnecessarily compress sensitive tissues.
In this guide, we explain which exercises may help lateral hip pain, how to perform them safely, what activities may aggravate symptoms and how physiotherapy can help you progress beyond short-term pain relief.
What Is Hip Bursitis?
A bursa is a small fluid-filled sac that helps reduce friction between tissues. Several bursae sit around the hip, including one near the greater trochanter, the bony point on the outside of your upper thigh.
Pain in this area has traditionally been called trochanteric bursitis or hip bursitis. However, lateral hip pain can also involve the nearby gluteal tendons. For this reason, clinicians may use the broader term greater trochanteric pain syndrome (GTPS).
Symptoms commonly include:
- Pain or tenderness on the outside of the hip
- Discomfort when you lie on the affected side
- Pain during longer walks
- Difficulty with stairs or hills
- Pain after prolonged standing
- Discomfort when you get up from a low chair
Because several structures can produce similar symptoms, an assessment can help determine what is actually contributing to your pain.
Why Exercise Matters for Lateral Hip Pain
It can be tempting to rest completely when your hip hurts. While reducing aggravating activities for a short period can help settle a flare-up, prolonged rest does not help build the strength and capacity needed for everyday activities.
The gluteal muscles play an important role in supporting your pelvis when you stand, walk and climb stairs. If these muscles lack strength or endurance, other tissues around the hip may have to handle more of the load.
A well-planned exercise program can help improve:
- Hip and gluteal strength
- Pelvic control
- Tolerance to walking and stairs
- Confidence with everyday movement
The key is gradual progression. More exercise is not automatically better if the hip is already sensitive.
Hip Bursitis Exercises to Build Strength and Control
There isn’t one universal program for hip bursitis. Your starting point should reflect your pain level, strength and normal activity.
The following exercises are examples commonly used to develop hip strength and control. The number of repetitions, sets and frequency should depend on your symptoms, current strength and how your hip responds afterwards. A physiotherapist can help determine an appropriate starting point and progression.
1. Glute Bridge
A bridge strengthens the gluteal muscles without requiring you to stand on the painful hip.
How to do it:
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet on the floor.
- Keep your feet approximately hip-width apart.
- Gently lift your hips from the floor.
- Pause briefly at the top.
- Lower your hips with control.
Try to keep your pelvis level rather than shifting towards one side.
If the exercise feels comfortable, your physiotherapist may later increase the resistance or introduce a more challenging variation.
2. Isometric Hip Abduction Against a Wall
Isometric exercises allow muscles to produce force without a large joint movement. They can be useful when more dynamic exercises are uncomfortable.
How to do it:
- Stand side-on near a wall.
- Bend the knee closest to the wall slightly and place the outside of that leg against the wall.
- Gently press into the wall.
- Keep your trunk upright and pelvis level.
- Hold for a short period, then relax.
You should feel the muscles around your hip work without a sharp increase in pain.
3. Sit-to-Stand
This exercise develops hip and thigh strength while also practising a movement you use throughout the day.
How to do it:
- Sit towards the front of a stable chair.
- Place your feet comfortably apart.
- Lean forward slightly from your hips.
- Stand without allowing your knees to collapse inward.
- Sit back down slowly.
Start with a chair height that feels manageable. A lower seat increases the challenge and may not be suitable during an irritable stage.
4. Controlled Step-Ups
Once basic strengthening feels comfortable, step-ups can help prepare your hip for stairs and other single-leg tasks.
How to do it:
- Place one foot on a low step.
- Push through that leg to raise your body.
- Keep your knee and pelvis controlled.
- Lower yourself slowly.
- Repeat before changing sides.
A low step is usually a better starting point than trying to maximise height.
5. Standing Hip Abduction
This exercise targets muscles that help control the pelvis during walking.
How to do it:
- Stand beside a bench or chair for balance.
- Keep your trunk upright.
- Move one leg gently out to the side.
- Keep your toes facing forward.
- Return slowly to the starting position.
Avoid leaning your whole body in the opposite direction. A small, controlled movement is enough.
How Much Pain Is Acceptable During Exercise?
Exercise for hip pain does not always need to be completely pain-free. Mild discomfort during exercise may sometimes be acceptable if it remains manageable and settles without a meaningful increase in symptoms afterwards.
Pay attention to how the hip responds both during the exercise and afterwards.
A program may need adjustment if:
- Pain becomes sharp
- Symptoms increase significantly
- You develop a noticeable limp afterwards
- Night pain becomes worse
- Your usual activities become harder the following day
This response is more useful than simply counting repetitions. If your hip repeatedly flares after exercise, reducing the load, range or volume may be appropriate.
Should You Stretch Hip Bursitis?
This is where hip bursitis advice can become confusing.
If the outside of your hip feels tight, aggressively stretching it may seem logical. However, some stretches place the gluteal tendons and other sensitive tissues under additional compression.
For example, repeatedly pulling the affected leg far across your body may increase pressure around the outside of the hip.
That doesn’t mean all mobility work is unsuitable, however. It means stretches should be selected according to your individual presentation rather than based on the assumption that every painful hip needs more flexibility.
At FlexiFit Physiotherapy, we assess whether restricted mobility is genuinely contributing before adding stretches to your program.
Everyday Positions That Can Keep the Hip Irritated
Your exercise program is only one part of recovery. What happens during the other hours of the day also matters.
If your lateral hip is sensitive, you may need to temporarily modify habits such as:
- Standing with most of your weight on one leg
- Sitting with your legs crossed
- Sleeping directly on the painful side
- Taking sudden long walks after a period of inactivity
- Repeatedly climbing steep hills or stairs
When you sleep on the opposite side, placing a pillow between your knees may feel more comfortable for some people.
These adjustments don’t need to become permanent rules. Their purpose is to reduce unnecessary irritation while you gradually rebuild capacity.
How Should Hip Exercises Progress?
Rehabilitation should become more challenging as your hip improves.
You might begin with exercises that place relatively little demand on the hip before progressing towards:
- Stronger resistance exercises
- Higher step-ups
- Single-leg control
- Longer walks
- Hills and stairs
- Sport-specific tasks
Someone who wants to walk comfortably around the neighbourhood has different requirements from a runner, footballer or person with a physically demanding job.
This is why progression should reflect what you need your hip to do.
Common Mistakes With Hip Bursitis Exercises
One common mistake is trying several new exercises at once. If your symptoms flare, it then becomes difficult to know which exercise or load caused the problem.
Another is stopping exercises as soon as pain begins to settle. Reduced pain does not necessarily mean your hip has regained the strength and capacity required for normal activity.
It’s also worth avoiding the opposite approach: pushing through increasingly severe pain because an exercise is supposed to be ‘good for bursitis’. Exercise should challenge your hip appropriately, not repeatedly aggravate it.
When Should You Have Your Hip Assessed?
Consider seeing a physiotherapist if your lateral hip pain persists, repeatedly returns or starts to limit your normal routine.
An assessment is particularly useful if you:
- Cannot comfortably walk your usual distance
- Regularly wake because of hip pain
- Have difficulty with stairs
- Develop a limp
- Are unsure which exercises are appropriate
- Have tried rest without lasting improvement
Seek prompt medical attention for severe pain after trauma, inability to bear weight, significant swelling, fever or other sudden and concerning symptoms.
How FlexiFit Physiotherapy Can Help With Hip Bursitis
At FlexiFit Physiotherapy, we don’t assume every case of outer hip pain is simply an inflamed bursa.
We assess your hip movement, gluteal strength, pelvic control and the activities that provoke your symptoms. We may also assess your lower back, knee or other nearby areas when they could contribute.
From there, we can create a rehabilitation plan that matches your current capacity and goals. Your care may include tailored exercises, load-management advice, hands-on treatment where appropriate and gradual progression back to the activities that matter to you.
Hip Bursitis Exercises: The Bottom Line
The most useful hip bursitis exercises are usually those that help your hip tolerate load more effectively without repeatedly irritating the painful area. Glute bridges, isometric hip exercises, sit-to-stands, controlled step-ups and standing hip abduction can all have a place in rehabilitation, but the correct starting point varies from person to person.
Rather than searching for one perfect stretch or exercise, focus on a gradual program that responds to your symptoms and becomes more challenging as your capacity improves.
Ready to Address Your Hip Pain?
If outer hip pain is affecting your sleep, walking, stairs or exercise, FlexiFit Physiotherapy can assess your symptoms and develop a rehabilitation plan around your current ability and goals.
Call us on 02 8542 9507 or visit our Contact Us page to arrange an appointment.