Physical Therapy for Hip Bursitis: Exercises to Know

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsAssessmentPhysical TherapyExercisesPreventionOutlookFrequently Asked Questions

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Assessment

Physical Therapy

Exercises

Prevention

Outlook

Frequently Asked Questions

If you have hip bursitis, you may benefit from working with adoctor of physical therapy(DPT/PT). A therapist can assess your condition and determine the causes of your symptoms. They can show you exercises and other strategies that will help improve your functional mobility and strength if you have hip bursitis.

This article will cover the causes of hip bursitis, how a physical therapist assesses pain and mobility, and what exercises you can do to help with bursitis in your hips.

Verywell / Brianna Gilmartin

What Causes Hip Bursitis?

Throughout your body, there are small sacs ofsynovialfluid called bursa (orbursaeif you’re talking about more than one). These sacs allow soft tissue, like muscles and tendons, to slide and glide freely over bony parts (prominences).

You have a bursa on the outside of each hip. One is called thetrochantericbursa and the other on the inner part of your hip is called theiliopsoasbursa. Sometimes, excessive rubbing of soft tissue over the bursae causes inflammation and pain.

Trochanteric hip bursitis usually starts as pain on the outer (lateral) side of your hip. Iliopsoas bursitis is usually felt on the inner part of your hip and groin.

If you have hip bursitis, it can hurt when you walk, press on your hip, or lie on one side when you’re sleeping. You may also feel warmth on the outer part of your hip, which is a sign of inflammation.

If pain and inflammation are present for months or keep returning, the bursa can become calcified and thickened. Over time, hip bursitis can lead to more pain and less mobility.

Risk Factors

There are several risk factors for hip bursitis, including:

An Overview of Bursitis

Assessing Hip Bursitis

A PT will ask you about your hip pain and how it started. They will want to know if your symptoms are changing and what makes your pain better or worse.

Your PT will also ask you how the hip pain from bursitis is affecting your functional mobility. Based on what they observe and talk to you about at your first meeting, your PT can get an idea of how severe your hip bursitis is.

Mild cases of hip bursitis cause some pain, but functional mobility is not always affected. More severe cases of hip bursitis cause major limitations in activities like walking and sleeping.

Common Assessment Tests

After your PT talks to you about your symptoms, they will do several tests and measures to see what could be causing bursitis in your hip.

Tests that PT use to evaluate you for hip bursitis include:

Hip Bursitis Physical Therapy

After your first meeting, your PT should have enough information to determine the cause of bursitis and make a treatment plan.

PT treatment for hip bursitis uses strategies that reduce inflammation and pressure on the hip bursa.

The goals of rehab for hip bursitis are to reduce pain, improve range of motion and strength, and restore normal functional mobility.

Most people with hip bursitis benefit from working with a PT who is anorthopedic specialistor sports therapist. These providers have a great deal of knowledge about musculoskeletal conditions and can make sure that you are doing the best treatments and exercises to manage bursitis.

Common physical therapy treatments for hip bursitis include:

Many of these treatments (like heat or ultrasound) arepassive. That means you do nothing while the PT does the moving for you.

While passive exercises are part of therapy, they are not the only ones you’ll need to do. The most effective treatments for hip bursitis are active and include stretching, strengthening, and balance exercises.

Hip Bursitis Exercises

Exercise is the main treatment for hip bursitis. It has been shown to improve strength and range of motion, which can relieve pressure on your hip bursae.

Before starting any exercise program for hip bursitis, talk to your healthcare provider to make sure that exercise is safe for you to do.

Sidelying Straight Leg Raise

The sidelying straight leg raise exercise is great for improving the strength of yourgluteus medius(the muscle supports the outside part of your hip). Strengthening this muscle can be an effective strategy for the treatment of trochanteric hip bursitis.

To perform the exercise:

Hip Bridges

Hip bridges strengthen your gluteal and back muscles. They help treat both iliopsoas and trochanteric hip bursitis.

To perform the bridge:

Hip Rotator Stretch

The hip rotator stretch can stretch yourpiriformismuscle, which is deep in your hip. Exercising this muscle can improve the mobility of the joint and give the bursa more room and protect it from getting compressed.

To perform the stretch:

Piriformis Syndrome: Stretches and Exercises

Clamshell

The clamshell exercise can strengthen your gluteus muscles and add muscular support to your hip joint.

What To Do If Exercises HurtIf any exercise causes pain in your hip, stop and tell your PT you’re having pain. Minor adjustments can be made to your exercise program for hip bursitis to make sure you can do the movements without pain.

What To Do If Exercises Hurt

If any exercise causes pain in your hip, stop and tell your PT you’re having pain. Minor adjustments can be made to your exercise program for hip bursitis to make sure you can do the movements without pain.

As you make progress with your hip bursitis rehab, your PT will talk to you about how to prevent future episodes of hip pain.

There are several strategies to prevent hip bursitis, including:

If you start to feel your hip pain coming back, your PT may have you modify some of your activities.

A little bit of rest combined with the right stretches and strengthening exercises can often be enough to prevent a full-blown attack of hip bursitis.

Episodes of acute hip bursitis may last a few days. More severe cases may last several weeks to months and become recurrent or chronic.

Many people with hip pain benefit from working with a PT 2-3 times a week for a few weeks. They can have fewer visits with their PT as their symptoms get better.

How to Treat Hip Bursitis

Summary

Hip bursitis is when the bursa on your hip is inflamed and irritated. You can have pain, decreased strength, and difficulty with movements like walking or running.

Working with a physical therapist can be helpful because they can show you exercises to help you get better and prevent future episodes of hip bursitis pain.

By doing stretching and strengthening stretches daily, most people are able to reduce hip bursitis pain and improve their quality of life in a matter or weeks.

While hip bursitis is not fatal, it can have a serious effect on your quality of life. A physical therapist can assess your condition and help you find the best stretching and strength exercises to relieve pain and prevent future episodes.

Physical therapy can be extremely effective in managing hip bursitis. Your therapist can provide you with education, encouragement and motivation, and strategies to decrease your pain and improve your mobility. More importantly, your physical therapist can show you how to decrease the likelihood of having another episode of hip bursitis.

16 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Seidman AJ, Taqi M, Varacallo M.Trochanteric bursitis (Archived). In:StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2024.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Bursitis.American Academy of Family Physicians.Bursitis of the hip.Della Valle V, Bassi EM, Calliada F.Migration of calcium deposits into subacromial-subdeltoid bursa and into humeral head as a rare complication of calcifying tendinitis: sonography and imaging.J Ultrasound. 2015 Apr 17;18(3):259-63. doi:10.1007/s40477-015-0163-4National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.Bursitis.University of Washington Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine.Bursitis, tendinitis, and other soft tissue rheumatic syndromes.Stanford University Medicine.How is bursitis treated?Nurkovic J, Jovasevic L, Konicanin A, Bajin Z, Ilic KP, Grbovic V, Skevin AJ, Dolicanin Z.Treatment of trochanteric bursitis: our experience.J Phys Ther Sci. 2016 Jul;28(7):2078-81. doi:10.1589/jpts.28.2078American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons.Hip exercises.Clifford C, Paul L, Syme G, Millar NL.Isometric versus isotonic exercise for greater trochanteric pain syndrome: a randomised controlled pilot study.BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2019 Sep 21;5(1):e000558. doi:10.1136/bmjsem-2019-000558Government of Alberta Health Services.Trochanteric bursitis: exercises.Mellor R, Bennell K, Grimaldi A, et al.Education plus exercise versus corticosteroid injection use versus a wait and see approach on global outcome and pain from gluteal tendinopathy: prospective, single blinded, randomised clinical trial.Br J Sports Med. 2018;52(22):1464-1472. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2018-k1662repLe DT, Shah S.Greater trochanteric bursitis injection. In:StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2024.O’Shea NE, Tadi P.Olecranon bursa aspiration. In:StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2024.Ali M, Oderuth E, Atchia I, Malviya A.The use of platelet-rich plasma in the treatment of greater trochanteric pain syndrome: a systematic literature review.Journal of Hip Preservation Surgery. 2018;5(3):209-219. doi:10.1093/jhps/hny027Mitchell JJ, Chahla J, Vap AR, et al.Endoscopic trochanteric bursectomy and iliotibial band release for persistent trochanteric bursitis.Arthrosc Tech. 2016;5(5):e1185-e1189. doi:10.1016/j.eats.2016.07.005

16 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Seidman AJ, Taqi M, Varacallo M.Trochanteric bursitis (Archived). In:StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2024.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Bursitis.American Academy of Family Physicians.Bursitis of the hip.Della Valle V, Bassi EM, Calliada F.Migration of calcium deposits into subacromial-subdeltoid bursa and into humeral head as a rare complication of calcifying tendinitis: sonography and imaging.J Ultrasound. 2015 Apr 17;18(3):259-63. doi:10.1007/s40477-015-0163-4National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.Bursitis.University of Washington Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine.Bursitis, tendinitis, and other soft tissue rheumatic syndromes.Stanford University Medicine.How is bursitis treated?Nurkovic J, Jovasevic L, Konicanin A, Bajin Z, Ilic KP, Grbovic V, Skevin AJ, Dolicanin Z.Treatment of trochanteric bursitis: our experience.J Phys Ther Sci. 2016 Jul;28(7):2078-81. doi:10.1589/jpts.28.2078American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons.Hip exercises.Clifford C, Paul L, Syme G, Millar NL.Isometric versus isotonic exercise for greater trochanteric pain syndrome: a randomised controlled pilot study.BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2019 Sep 21;5(1):e000558. doi:10.1136/bmjsem-2019-000558Government of Alberta Health Services.Trochanteric bursitis: exercises.Mellor R, Bennell K, Grimaldi A, et al.Education plus exercise versus corticosteroid injection use versus a wait and see approach on global outcome and pain from gluteal tendinopathy: prospective, single blinded, randomised clinical trial.Br J Sports Med. 2018;52(22):1464-1472. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2018-k1662repLe DT, Shah S.Greater trochanteric bursitis injection. In:StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2024.O’Shea NE, Tadi P.Olecranon bursa aspiration. In:StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2024.Ali M, Oderuth E, Atchia I, Malviya A.The use of platelet-rich plasma in the treatment of greater trochanteric pain syndrome: a systematic literature review.Journal of Hip Preservation Surgery. 2018;5(3):209-219. doi:10.1093/jhps/hny027Mitchell JJ, Chahla J, Vap AR, et al.Endoscopic trochanteric bursectomy and iliotibial band release for persistent trochanteric bursitis.Arthrosc Tech. 2016;5(5):e1185-e1189. doi:10.1016/j.eats.2016.07.005

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Seidman AJ, Taqi M, Varacallo M.Trochanteric bursitis (Archived). In:StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2024.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Bursitis.American Academy of Family Physicians.Bursitis of the hip.Della Valle V, Bassi EM, Calliada F.Migration of calcium deposits into subacromial-subdeltoid bursa and into humeral head as a rare complication of calcifying tendinitis: sonography and imaging.J Ultrasound. 2015 Apr 17;18(3):259-63. doi:10.1007/s40477-015-0163-4National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.Bursitis.University of Washington Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine.Bursitis, tendinitis, and other soft tissue rheumatic syndromes.Stanford University Medicine.How is bursitis treated?Nurkovic J, Jovasevic L, Konicanin A, Bajin Z, Ilic KP, Grbovic V, Skevin AJ, Dolicanin Z.Treatment of trochanteric bursitis: our experience.J Phys Ther Sci. 2016 Jul;28(7):2078-81. doi:10.1589/jpts.28.2078American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons.Hip exercises.Clifford C, Paul L, Syme G, Millar NL.Isometric versus isotonic exercise for greater trochanteric pain syndrome: a randomised controlled pilot study.BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2019 Sep 21;5(1):e000558. doi:10.1136/bmjsem-2019-000558Government of Alberta Health Services.Trochanteric bursitis: exercises.Mellor R, Bennell K, Grimaldi A, et al.Education plus exercise versus corticosteroid injection use versus a wait and see approach on global outcome and pain from gluteal tendinopathy: prospective, single blinded, randomised clinical trial.Br J Sports Med. 2018;52(22):1464-1472. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2018-k1662repLe DT, Shah S.Greater trochanteric bursitis injection. In:StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2024.O’Shea NE, Tadi P.Olecranon bursa aspiration. In:StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2024.Ali M, Oderuth E, Atchia I, Malviya A.The use of platelet-rich plasma in the treatment of greater trochanteric pain syndrome: a systematic literature review.Journal of Hip Preservation Surgery. 2018;5(3):209-219. doi:10.1093/jhps/hny027Mitchell JJ, Chahla J, Vap AR, et al.Endoscopic trochanteric bursectomy and iliotibial band release for persistent trochanteric bursitis.Arthrosc Tech. 2016;5(5):e1185-e1189. doi:10.1016/j.eats.2016.07.005

Seidman AJ, Taqi M, Varacallo M.Trochanteric bursitis (Archived). In:StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2024.

Johns Hopkins Medicine.Bursitis.

American Academy of Family Physicians.Bursitis of the hip.

Della Valle V, Bassi EM, Calliada F.Migration of calcium deposits into subacromial-subdeltoid bursa and into humeral head as a rare complication of calcifying tendinitis: sonography and imaging.J Ultrasound. 2015 Apr 17;18(3):259-63. doi:10.1007/s40477-015-0163-4

National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.Bursitis.

University of Washington Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine.Bursitis, tendinitis, and other soft tissue rheumatic syndromes.

Stanford University Medicine.How is bursitis treated?

Nurkovic J, Jovasevic L, Konicanin A, Bajin Z, Ilic KP, Grbovic V, Skevin AJ, Dolicanin Z.Treatment of trochanteric bursitis: our experience.J Phys Ther Sci. 2016 Jul;28(7):2078-81. doi:10.1589/jpts.28.2078

American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons.Hip exercises.

Clifford C, Paul L, Syme G, Millar NL.Isometric versus isotonic exercise for greater trochanteric pain syndrome: a randomised controlled pilot study.BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2019 Sep 21;5(1):e000558. doi:10.1136/bmjsem-2019-000558

Government of Alberta Health Services.Trochanteric bursitis: exercises.

Mellor R, Bennell K, Grimaldi A, et al.Education plus exercise versus corticosteroid injection use versus a wait and see approach on global outcome and pain from gluteal tendinopathy: prospective, single blinded, randomised clinical trial.Br J Sports Med. 2018;52(22):1464-1472. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2018-k1662rep

Le DT, Shah S.Greater trochanteric bursitis injection. In:StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2024.

O’Shea NE, Tadi P.Olecranon bursa aspiration. In:StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2024.

Ali M, Oderuth E, Atchia I, Malviya A.The use of platelet-rich plasma in the treatment of greater trochanteric pain syndrome: a systematic literature review.Journal of Hip Preservation Surgery. 2018;5(3):209-219. doi:10.1093/jhps/hny027

Mitchell JJ, Chahla J, Vap AR, et al.Endoscopic trochanteric bursectomy and iliotibial band release for persistent trochanteric bursitis.Arthrosc Tech. 2016;5(5):e1185-e1189. doi:10.1016/j.eats.2016.07.005

Meet Our Medical Expert Board

Share Feedback

Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit

What is your feedback?