Hip Pain, Stiffness & Limited Mobility

Hip pain can make everyday movement more difficult. Our physician-led approach helps identify possible causes and develop a personalized plan, which may include osteopathic treatment (OMT) when appropriate.

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Physician Evaluation

Care starts with a medical assessment.

Conservative, Non-Surgical Care

Treatment is focused on movement and function.

OMT When Appropriate

Hands-on treatment may be included when clinically appropriate.

How Hip Pain Can Affect Daily Life

Hip pain and stiffness can interfere with work, sleep, exercise, and everyday activities.

Walking

Shorter distances, reduced speed

Climbing Stairs

More difficult or painful

Getting Up or Sitting Down

Harder to rise from a chair

Sleeping

Discomfort when lying on one side

Driving

Discomfort with prolonged sitting

Exercise & Daily Activities

Limited participation

What May Contribute to Neck Pain?

Hip pain can have many possible contributors, including muscles, joints, tendons, posture, previous injury or age-related changes. A physician evaluation helps determine the likely cause and the most appropriate next steps.

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When You Should See a Physician for Hip Pain?

Symptoms persist beyond a few weeks
Pain keeps returning
Movement remains restricted
Work, sleep, or exercise is affected
Physical therapy progress has stalled
You’re unsure what to do next
SCHEDULE EVALUATION
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Osteopathic Treatment for
Hip Pain

When clinically appropriate, osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) may be used to address muscle, joint and soft-tissue restrictions that contribute to hip pain and limited movement.

  • Soft-Tissue Techniques
  • Gentle Mobilization
  • Guided Resistance
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The Goal: More Comfortable Movement and Function

Care is focused on helping you return to the activities that matter most.

  • Walking
  • Stairs
  • Work Tasks
  • Sleeping
  • Exercise
  • Daily Activities

How Care Can Complement Physical Therapy

Physical therapy may focus on strengthening, mobility, and functional progression. A physician reassessment and OMT may complement your progress when relevant restrictions or persistent symptoms remain.

Still experiencing symptoms despite physical therapy?

WHAT TO CONSIDER NEXT
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When Hip Pain Extends to the Knee or Lower Back

Hip-related symptoms can sometimes affect the knee or lower back, or occur alongside them. A physician evaluation helps determine whether your symptoms are primarily hip-related or involved other areas.

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Frequently Asked Questions

A physician evaluation is a reasonable starting point when hip pain persists, keeps returning, limits your range of motion, or interferes with walking, stairs, sleep, exercise, or everyday activity.

Hip-area pain can come from the joint itself, surrounding muscles or tendons, nearby nerves, the lower back, or other conditions. A focused history and physical examination can help determine which source appears most likely and whether conservative treatment, rehabilitation, imaging, or referral to another specialist may be appropriate.

Yes. Hip pain can be felt in different locations depending on the underlying problem. Clinically, hip pain is commonly described as anterior, lateral, or posterior.

Pain involving the hip joint often appears in the front of the hip or groin. Lateral hip problems may cause pain over the outside of the hip, while problems involving the lower back, deep gluteal region, or nearby nerves may produce buttock or radiating leg symptoms. The location of pain provides useful clues, but it does not establish the diagnosis by itself.

Imaging becomes more important when there is concern for significant trauma, infection, cancer, spinal cord involvement, progressive neurologic symptoms, or other findings that could change treatment.

Not everyone with hip pain needs imaging. When imaging is appropriate for persistent or undifferentiated hip pain, plain X-rays of the hip and pelvis are generally the initial study.
MRI or ultrasound may be considered later depending on the examination findings and suspected problem, such as a labral injury, tendon tear, stress fracture, or another soft-tissue condition. Imaging decisions should therefore be based on what the physician finds during the evaluation and whether the result is likely to change treatment.

OMT is a hands-on treatment approach used by Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine. During OMT, a physician may use techniques involving stretching, gentle pressure, and resistance to work with muscles and joints.

For hip pain, OMT may be considered when the examination identifies clinically relevant musculoskeletal restrictions. It is not automatically appropriate for every cause of hip pain. Conditions such as fracture, advanced joint disease, major tendon injury, or other medical problems may require imaging, rehabilitation, referral, or another treatment pathway instead.

Yes, when clinically appropriate. Physical therapy may focus on strength, hip mobility, gait, balance, movement retraining, and gradual return to activity, while OMT may address selected musculoskeletal restrictions identified during physician examination.

The two approaches can therefore be complementary rather than competing. If progress has stalled, physician reassessment can also help determine whether rehabilitation should be modified or whether additional testing, imaging, or another type of care should be considered.

Seek prompt medical care after a hip injury if you cannot bear weight, cannot move the hip or leg, have intense pain or sudden swelling, or the joint appears deformed or out of place. Fever or chills occurring with significant hip pain can also signal a problem that requires prompt evaluation.

These situations should not be treated as routine musculoskeletal hip pain because they can be associated with fracture, dislocation, infection, or another condition requiring more urgent assessment.


Ready to Take the Next Step?

If pain, stiffness, or restricted movement is affecting your daily activity, a physician-led Mobility Evaluation can help determine what may be contributing and what type of care makes sense next.

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