The term “hip impingement” is commonly used to refer to the premature contact between the neck of your femur and the rim of your acetabulum (hip socket) and is specifically associated with pain, and sometimes clicking, catching, locking, stiffness, or limited range of motion.

People will oftentimes experience hip or groin pain with things like prolonged sitting, deep squatting, or different sporting activities. If they have gotten x-rays and an MRI, their doctor will likely have identified either a CAM lesion (changes to the femur), a Pincer lesion (changes to the acetabular rim), or both. 

It’s important to note that imaging findings, clinical findings, AND symptoms must all be present for someone to be diagnosed with hip impingement. This is crucial to understand because it is common for people to have these changes on imaging without any symptoms whatsoever. This fact can give you hope that maybe you don’t NEED to get surgery in order to “fix” your hip. The first line of defense for hip impingement, therefore, is typically 3-6 months of dedicated conservative rehabilitation. Many people find complete relief through this route and are able to get back to the activities they love without surgery.

Here are the 3 ways you can start to improve your hip symptoms:

1. Load management

Managing your load is going to be a crucial first step. Here are a few examples of what this might look like:

• If you’re currently having pain squatting 2x/week with 135lbs, you can either decrease to 115lbs (or a weight that does not increase symptoms), or try squatting 1x/week temporarily, or both. As your hip symptoms start to decrease, you can gradually build back up to 135lb at 2x/week.
• If you’re able to run at 75% intensity but are unable to sprint at 100% intensity without symptoms, stick with 75% intensity for a few weeks and then gradually start to work back towards sprinting as your hip symptoms decrease.
• If you’re unable to sit for longer than 20 minutes without pain while at work, then introduce some standing breaks at around the 15 minute mark, prior to the onset of your symptoms.   

2. Activity Modification

Modifying any aggravating activities ties in closely with managing your load but has a few differences. Here are a few examples of what activity modification might look like:

• Decreasing the depth of your squat, or try a different/less symptomatic variation such as the split squat, hack squat, or leg extension.
• Changing your child’s pose from knees together to knees apart, or switching to a different yoga pose altogether.
• Switching out your low chair for a higher chair that allows you to sit with your hip in a less flexed position. 

3. Resistance training

Doing some resistance exercises directed towards the hip muscles as well as the core and lower body has been shown to be very helpful when it comes to improving someone’s hip pain. The key is to choose exercises that feel good for you and do not significantly increase your symptoms. Here are a few examples of exercises that can help improve your hip symptoms:

Need Help?

If you’re a little overwhelmed with the options available when it comes to improving your hip impingement symptoms - then we can help. Click here to schedule a free Discovery Visit with one of our Doctors of Physical Therapy, or reach out to us at anytime at (760) 301-6566 or at [email protected]