Hip Pain

Hip Pain That Shows Up on the Stairs or Getting Out of the Car

Reviewed by Dr. Dustin Dukart, DC

Deep in the groin when you pivot, an ache on the outside of the hip when you lie on that side, stiffness for the first few steps after sitting. “Hip pain” covers a lot of different problems — and which one you actually have decides what helps.

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“Hip Pain” Isn’t One Thing

True hip-joint pain — including hip osteoarthritis — is usually felt in the groin or front of the hip and gets worse with weight-bearing and rotation. Pain on the outside of the hip is more often the tendons and soft tissue over the bone there (greater trochanteric pain syndrome). Pain in the buttock can be the hip, the SI joint, or referred from the low back. The exam’s first job is to figure out which of these is driving your pain, because they don’t all respond to the same plan.

What the Evidence Supports

For hip osteoarthritis, the strongest lever is exercise — the American College of Rheumatology guideline and OARSI’s guideline both put therapeutic exercise, education, and weight management first. Hands-on care has a supporting role: the 2025 clinical practice guideline on hip osteoarthritis recommends manual therapy — joint mobilization and long-axis distraction — to improve range of motion as part of a plan built around exercise. For the non-arthritic causes (tendon-related outer-hip pain, pain referred from the low back or SI joint), conservative care that combines targeted loading exercise with hands-on treatment is a well-established approach. We’re upfront that the exercise is doing most of the work.

The Exam Comes First

We start by sorting joint pain from soft-tissue pain from referred pain, screen for the situations that need a medical referral (below), then build a plan around the specific cause — usually a progressive exercise program with hands-on treatment to support your ability to do it.

When to See a Doctor First

Book a medical evaluation rather than starting a conservative-care plan if you have:

• Hip pain right after a fall, especially if you can’t bear weight — this needs an X-ray to rule out a fracture
• Fever, redness, or warmth over the joint with the pain
• Night pain that’s unrelenting, or unexplained weight loss, or a history of cancer alongside the hip pain
• Hip arthritis that already limits your daily life despite months of conservative care — that’s a conversation about joint replacement, and it’s a good one to have

Ready When You Are

Most new patients are seen within a few days.

Book Your Visit → or call (612) 314-9482