Hip pain

How it shows up

Most often it hurts in the groin, at the front — which is a surprise, because most people picture the hip joint at the side. The pain announces itself after a longer walk, when getting up from a low seat and when putting shoes on, where the knee has to come towards the chest.

It is also common for the stride to shorten on one side and for walking to become uneven. Uneven walking then adds pain in the pelvis and lower back, even though nothing was wrong with them to begin with.

Where it usually comes from

The hip carries several times body weight with every step and relies on the pelvis to hold it upright. When the pelvis tilts — because one side works more, or because the torso rotates in the lower back instead of the chest — the joint takes its load from the side rather than from above.

Add to that the shortening of the muscles at the front of the hip, which grows with sitting. Standing, the hip then never reaches full extension and the last part of each step is taken over by the lower back.

How spiral stabilisation approaches it

For the hip, spiral stabilisation does not focus on the hip. It works with the chains running from one shoulder to the opposite hip, and with walking — because it is in the step that you see whether the pelvis holds the vertical or tilts.

The exercises lengthen the front of the hip and at the same time teach the gluteal and oblique abdominal muscles to engage in the right order. That takes load off the joint — not by strengthening around it, but by stopping it from doing the torso's work.

Related exercises

Exercises done for hip pain. You can read about them here; the full instructions and video are in the Spiralista app.

A3 Arrow

Arrow front sitting

A9 Sideway Arrow

Arrow sideways sitting

A10 Back Arrow

Back arrow sitting

C25 Reeds

Reeds back kneeling

B3 Arrow

Arrow front standing

B9 Sideway Arrow

Sideway Arrow standing

B10 Back Arrow

Back Arrow standing

E43 Tourist

Tourist front shifting weight

When to see a doctor first

See a doctor if the hip hurts at rest and at night, if the range of movement is shrinking quickly, if the pain started after a fall, or if fever and swelling appear — that is no longer a question for exercise.

An examination is also needed if a child or teenager suddenly starts limping and complains about the knee; in children, hip pain often announces itself in the knee.