Can Sciatica Cause Hip Pain? Understanding the Connection

When pain shows up in the hip joint, most people automatically think that the hip is causing them trouble. After all, that’s logical. Your hip hurts, so you assume it’s your hip’s problem.

But our bodies work together as one unit; when one area decides to go rogue on us, it typically affects other areas as well. The hip may hurt because something else is irritating your nerves around that hip. One question we often hear at our physical therapy clinic is can sciatica cause hip pain? Yes! In fact, it’s very common for sciatica pain to refer to the hip first, before anywhere down the leg.

Learning how and why your sciatic nerve refers pain to your hip is the first step you can take toward getting your mobility back under your control. When your sciatic nerve is irritated, it will tell you so not only by an ache in your back but also by shouting out to your hip.

The Sciatic Nerve’s Path to the Hip Joint

The reason your hip receives overflow from an irritated spinal nerve is that the sciatic nerve itself travels directly through the hip joint. The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in your body. It originates from five nerve roots that come together in your lower back (also known as your lumbar spine) and travels through the deep muscles of your buttocks down the back of each leg.

If you squeeze the hip from your hand like you’re gripping a baseball, your fingers are pressing right on top of the sciatic nerve!

Any irritation to those nerves in your spine causes them to become inflamed and send incorrect signals to your brain. Your brain thinks something is wrong with your hip when, in reality, your hip joint is perfectly healthy; it’s the nerves around your hip that are causing all the pain.

So when that spinal disc bulges or that spinal canal narrows and squeezes on those nerves, your body can feel it down in the hip.

Sciatica Pain vs Hip Pain: How to Tell the Difference

One of the biggest problems we see with doctors, nurses, and even physical therapists is that they misdiagnose a nerve problem for a hip problem. Why? Many patients only complain about their hip pain and never address the spinal issues that cause the problem in the first place.

Sciatic Nerve Pain

Sciatica typically feels like an “electric” type of pain. It wants to move around.

• Characteristics: Burning, tingling (pins & needles) sensations, or sharp shooting jolts of pain.
• Location: Pain usually presents in the buttocks or outside of the hip and travels down the back of the thigh.
• What makes it worse? Sitting for long periods, sneezing, or leaning forward will usually increase the pain.

Hip Joint Pain (i.e., arthritis)

Hip joint pain tends to have a more “structural” quality to it. This means your actual “ball and socket” joint is involved.

• Characteristics: Deep achy pain or feeling like your hip is grinding.
• Location: Pain is usually most prominent in the groin region or the front of your hip.
• What makes it worse? Putting weight on your leg when it hurts (e.g., going up and down stairs or standing up from a seated position).

By understanding these minor differences in your pain presentation, you can help your health care provider help you recover more quickly. There’s strength in knowledge, and you just gained the upper hand on your injury.

The Sciatica Hip Pain Test

Ask yourself these questions if you think your pain may be nerve-related:

1. Does your pain travel below your knee?
2. Are you experiencing numbness or weakness in your foot/leg?
3. Does your pain feel like an electric shock?
4. Does sitting down on a hard chair increase your hip pain?
5. Did your pain start after lifting/stairs, or prolonged sitting?

If you answered YES to most of these questions, there’s a very good chance your spine is involved. And that’s the good news! Nerve pain, while very debilitating, can be treated effectively with non-surgical physical therapy.

How We Treat Your Sciatic Hip Pain at Summit PT

There are many different ways we can treat your nerve pain, but here are some of the main ways we help patients find relief from their sciatic nerve pain at Summit Physical Therapy:

• Manual Physical Therapy: Adjusting the spine to take pressure off the nerve roots using expert manual therapy techniques.
• Nerve Glides: Exercises that help the sciatic nerve travel freely without getting “caught” on nearby tissues.
• “Natural Corset” Training: Strengthening the muscles around your spine that act as a “natural corset” to help support your discs from future injury.
• Daily Activities: We show you how to sit, stand, and move correctly to minimize the chance of re-irritating your sciatic nerve throughout your day.

Our whole goal is to provide you with the proper tools and education so you CAN prevent future irritation to that nerve. There is power in movement, and we want to help you gain your range of motion back without fear of triggering another “flare-up.”

Take Control of Your Hip Pain TODAY

If you’re living with a nagging, aching hip that just doesn’t seem to go away no matter what you try, could sciatica be the hidden culprit? Many people don't realize that sciatica can indeed cause hip pain. If this sounds like it might be you, then you’re already one step closer to finding the long-term relief you've been looking for.

Don’t waste another waking moment trying to ignore the pain or hoping it will just disappear on its own. It's time to take action. Give our physical therapy office in Merrick, NY, a call today and take that crucial first step to control your health and your life once again!

Ready to get started? Visit us online to schedule an appointment right now.

Sciatica Hip Pain FAQs

What stretches help with sciatica hip pain?

Moving properly can help relieve your pain. Two biggies we recommend are the “Figure-4” stretch or the “knee-to-chest” stretch. Both of these stretches open up the lower back and help relax the piriformis muscle that likes to irritate the sciatic nerve. Take it slow! If it hurts to move forward, back off till it doesn’t hurt. You do not need to PUSH through the pain to feel better.

Does walking help with sciatica hip pain?

Yes! Taking short walks on level ground is great for increasing blood flow to the irritated area. Long strides will usually make the pain worse since it forces your nerve to stretch even more. Stay around “speech therapy” distances; walking, you can easily talk while walking. If you can’t speak because you’re out of breath, you’ve gone too far!

Will a chiropractor help me better than a PT will?

Although chiropractors DO help many people with their spinal misalignments, we take care of the entire movement system. That includes properly reinforcing the muscles that help prevent your spine from moving incorrectly and retraining your body’s movement patterns to prevent future injuries. For long-lasting results, nothing beats the manual therapy and corrective exercise that only a physical therapist in Merrick can provide.