Suffering from hip bursitis? Here is what you can do to help

In this article, I am going to talk hip bursitis (trochanteric bursitis), and what you can do, if you are getting these symptoms. Hip bursitis is characterised by discomfort in the hip joint, which may feel like a burning sensation. Other characteristics of hip bursitis include discomfort at night when sleeping, warm feeling in the area of the hip joint and discomfort when you add pressure to the area. 

Hip bursitis is when the bursa in the hip joint becomes inflamed and this can result in discomfort in the hip joint and radiating areas. A bursa is a small sack of fluid which is located in between soft tissue (muscle etc) and bones to help reduce friction.
 
What can cause hip bursitis?
There are a number of factors which can cause hip bursitis, which can include:

• Overuse
• Injury or previous injuries/surgery to the hip joint
• Biomechanics of the hip and spine
• Inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis

 
In Pilates classes I tend to see that some movements that involves lateral rotation (turning the hip out) or side laying can ‘flare’ up the symptoms. In the initial stages it would be worth avoiding those exercises, but only the short term. Whilst avoiding them completely might calm down the symptoms, it is unlikely to correct the cause of the bursitis.
 
What should I do if I suffer with hip bursitis?
Remember before embarking on any treatment, corrective exercise programme or anything similar to deal with your symptoms, you should always arrange an appointment with your GP first.
 
When I treat people with hip bursitis symptoms, I begin start by working to reduce these symptoms. With hip bursitis this can involve resting (short term), ice (short periods, Short term), Kinesiology taping or some specialist soft tissue work (i would definitely avoid any “deep” massage) in the surrounding areas to calm the symptoms down.
 
When the symptoms have calmed down, I then look to find what could be causing the symptoms. Generally we start to correct the biomechanics of hip and pelvis. This is done with a combination of soft tissue work (appropriate Sports Massage, METs, Myofascia release (not foam rolling!)) and with appropriate conditioning exercises which can be progressed over time. It is worth remembered with any painful symptoms this can take time, so don’t worry if it doesn’t feel fully better instantly, as long as the symptoms don’t get worse.
 
Along with the above, the other key element I found most effective is the nutrition side. Some of the most effective areas of nutrition that I find when treating people with hip bursitis, is the ‘anti-inflammatory’ diet listed on the arthritis foundation website (I have included this link to this and also a link of foods to avoid & increase at the bottom of this page). Again it can take a little time adjust to nutrition changes, so don;t worry if symptoms don’t calm down straight. Again your GP is your first point of call.
 
 It can be quite a common mistake to be fooled by thinking a ‘healthy diet’ will be sufficient for reducing inflammation, but it can be quite different to an ‘anti-inflammatory’ diet.
 
This should give you a few points to consider on how to manage hip bursitis, as always if you have questions, please feel free to contact me.

Anti-Inflammatory diet
Moderate/increase intake of these foods

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About the author
I am a Manual Therapist covering a range of different disciplines including massage & Biomechanics. I also run small specialist Pilates classes around Corfe Mullen, Broadstone, Wareham, Wimborne & Poole. Instead of just purely rubbing the pain, I always look to see if I can find a potential cause (or causes of the pain) and then work on treating this