Lying On My Hip Hurts - What Could This Be?
"Ouch, my hip hurts when I lie on my side!"
Hip bursitis, sometimes called gluteal tendinitis, is pain on the outside of your hip near the greater trochanter – those two big knobby bones on the outside of the hip area.
Bursitis is inflammation of the bursa.
Bursa are small jelly-like sacs that are located throughout the body, including around the shoulder, elbow, hip, knee, and heel. They contain a small amount of fluid, and are positioned between bones and soft tissues, acting as cushions to help reduce friction. There are two major bursae in the hip that typically become irritated and inflamed. One bursa covers the bony point of the hip bone (the greater trochanter) and inflammation of this bursa is called trochanteric bursitis. This is the most common.
Another bursa
The iliopsoas bursa — is located on the inside (groin side) of the hip. When this bursa becomes inflamed, the condition is also sometimes referred to as hip bursitis, but the pain is located in the groin area. This condition is not as common as trochanteric bursitis but is treated in a similar manner.
Hip bursitis doesn’t necessarily give you a limited range of motion,
but it’s more of a pain when you press on your hips and you feel sensitivity that extends from the hip to the outside of the thigh area. Typically, the pain is worse at night when lying on the affected hip and when getting up from a chair after being seated for a while. It also may get worse with prolonged walking, stair climbing, or squatting.
Risk Factors
Hip bursitis can affect anyone, but is more common in women and middle-aged or elderly people. The following risk factors have been associated with the development of hip bursitis:
Repetitive stress (overuse) injury
Hip injury. An injury to the point of your hip can occur when you fall onto your hip, bump your hip, or lie on one side of your body for an extended period of time.
Spine disease. This includes scoliosis, arthritis of the lumbar (lower) spine, and other spine problems that may affect the way you walk.
Excessive foot pronation changes the alignment of the leg which affects the hip.
Sitting with crossed legs – you probably do this more than you realize!
Inflexibility or weakness in your hips, hamstrings, glutes and/or IT Band
Prevention
Although hip bursitis cannot always be prevented, you can work to maintain strength and flexibility in the hip which may prevent you from ever having this issue. Simple ways to strengthen the hips:
Bridges with a resistance band around the ankles
“Monster walks” with a band around the ankles
Any of the “feet in strap work” on the reformer
Side lying hip work with top foot in the reformer strap is great for strength, but may be painful to be on your side. Try a soft pillow under the hip or roll your body slightly forward to take pressure off the bursa.
Reformer footwork with feet hip width apart on the bar
Gentle figure four stretches lying on the floor