Lying on your side or sitting cross legged will directly compress the structures on the side of the hip, which can lead to pain and discomfort when in those positions. Both of these can lead to pain that is felt in the side of the hip. Activities like standing, walking and going up stairs require contraction of the muscles on the side of the hip, which places tension on the tendons and can also increase pressure on the bursa. If you find yourself nodding along, it is possible that you may have GTPS. Tenderness when pressing against the hip bone.Pain with prolonged standing or walking.
If you are unsure if you have GTPS, check out the following list of symptoms that people who have the condition usually report: As such, we use the term greater trochanteric pain syndrome (GTPS) to describe the pain that people have in this region. Sometimes, the pain may be due to sensitivity of other structures nearby such as tendons. Sometimes, the bursa can become inflamed due to excessive friction or pressure from surrounding structures, and the inflammation can contribute to pain in the side of the hip.Īlthough bursitis is commonly blamed for this pain, research has found that many patients with hip pain actually show little or no signs of inflammation (Strauss et al., 2010), which means that inflammation is not always the problem. Tendons, ligaments, and muscles all glide over bones and other structures when we move, so bursa are strategically located in areas where there is a lot of movement or pressure. Hip bursitis is commonly thought to be the reason for pain in the side of the hip.Ī bursa is a small, slippery sac of fluid that functions as a cushion and reduces friction in the body. If you’ve been having pain in the side of your hip, you may have been told by your GP or someone else (or Google!) that you have hip bursitis. I’ve got this pain in the side of my hip… is it bursitis?