Sudden Hip Pain Without Injury: What It Could Mean

It can be frustrating to wake up with an isolated ache in your hip when you didn’t take a wrong step, fall, or feel a “pop” the previous day. Ask any couple of residents in our community, and you’ll hear plenty of commiseration. How does a joint go from feeling great one day to seemingly giving out the next? Did you just “sleep funny” or is there an underlying issue silently developing?

The truth is, when it comes to sudden hip pain without injury, it is almost never sudden. Your body is constantly talking to you – it’s just a matter of learning to listen. When your hip starts screaming at you “out of nowhere” – it’s not bad luck. It means that your hip has developed weak links in your muscular support system.

In this article, we will discuss why this happens, the usual suspects at play, and how proactive movement can help you take back your pain-free lifestyle.

Why Would My Hip Hurt if I Didn’t Do Anything to It?

Think about how a small crack can appear in an old bridge. Was it caused by the 18-wheeler that drove over it yesterday? No, the driver of the semi truck just uncovered years of wind, rain, and cross traffic. Your body works in a similar fashion.

The hip joint is one of the most durable joints in the human body. It’s a ball-and-socket joint designed to bear the weight of your body wherever you need to go: tens of thousands of steps a day and hours of standing.

When the muscles around that joint get too tight or weak, the joint tries to make up the difference. This compensation leads to “hot spots” of friction. Then, one day, that friction builds up until…it hurts. Your brain fires out that pain signal, and you sprain your “wooaaah!”

So what does that have to do with seemingly sudden hip pain? It means that for the most part, your hip pain came on for a reason. Yes, maybe you did buy a new pair of shoes this week or started sitting a little differently at your desk job. But your body was adjusting to those changes until it couldn’t take it anymore.

Potential Causes of Sudden Hip Pain

When patients experience sudden hip pain without injury, there are typically three places physical therapists look first. We call them “The Cushions”, “The Connectors”, and “The Messengers”.

Hip Bursitis (The Cushions)

Within the hip joint, there are several fluid-filled sacs called bursae. These little sacs act like grease and padding between the tendon and bone. When those sacs become inflamed, it’s called bursitis.

Hip bursitis (specifically trochanteric bursitis) will generally present as a sharp, shooting pain on the outside point of your hip bone. According to the Mayo Clinic, as it progresses, it may become a dull, spreading ache on the outer half of your thigh. One of the biggest complaints with hip bursitis is that it hurts to sleep on your affected side! So if you find yourself tossing and turning all night because your hip is “on fire”, we may be able to help “cool” those cushions off.

Hip Tendinitis (The Connectors)

Tendons are the thick, cord-like structures that connect muscle to bone. When the same motion is used repetitively (i.e., walking the same hilly path in Merrick, NY, over and over), tendinitis can occur.

Unlike something tearing, hip tendinitis builds up over time. It feels like a deep, burning ache either in your groin or the front of your hip. Many of our patients say they feel it the most when trying to lift their leg to get in their car or when climbing stairs. Essentially, your body is telling you that the “connectors” can no longer handle the workload, and it needs more support. At Summit Physical Therapy, our tendonitis and bursitis therapy focuses on reducing this inflammation while strengthening the muscles around the joint to relieve the pressure on those irritated “connectors”.

Lower Back Pain (The Messengers)

Believe it or not, your hip may not be the cause of your pain. In some cases, the pain you are feeling in your hip may actually be coming from your lower back. All of the nerves that provide feeling to your hip/pelvic region branch off from your lower spinal column. If there is a slight shift in the discs of your lower back or irritation/inflammation of the spinal nerves, your brain may register those nerves as hip pain.

This is commonly known as referred pain. The most well-known example of referred pain is Sciatica. When your sciatic nerve becomes pinched, it can cause pain that originates in your butt and travels down the side of your hip. If you feel “tingling”, numbness, or a “pins and needles” sensation with your hip pain, chances are it’s coming from your lower back. Treatment for neck and back pain is often the solution to your perceived hip problem.

Does Your Hip Pain Fall Outside of These Categories?

While inflammation in the bursa and tendons are two of the most likely causes of sudden hip pain without injury, they aren’t the only possibilities.

• Arthritis: Many people think of arthritis as a slow deterioration of the joint. However, arthritis can also flare up suddenly and cause joint stiffness and a deep achiness when you first wake up.
• Muscle Imbalance: When your butt muscles are weak, your hip joint compensates by working twice as hard. This “silent” deterioration can eventually lead to a sudden onset of pain once that joint can no longer compensate.
• Labral Tears: The labrum is a cartilage ring that mirrors the outer edge of the hip joint socket. While most tears are caused by injury, they can also develop over time, causing a “clicking” or “locking” sensation in your hip.

Don’t Fear the Crack: When Do You Need to See Someone?

There is strength in listening to your body. Pain is never a bad thing. It is your body’s way of signaling to you that something is off balance. With that being said, there are SOME occasions where you should seek professional care immediately.

Head straight to your doctor if you:

• Are unable to stand or walk due to the pain.
• Notice visible swelling/redness/warmth in the joint.
• Have pain accompanied by a fever.
• Feel your hip is “clicking” or “locking” frequently when you move it.
• Experience no improvement in pain after one week of rest and self-stretching.

If you fall into one of the categories above, it’s time to seek professional help. Physical therapists specialize in the human body in motion. We don’t just treat the “break” in the bridge – we study how the entire bridge came to be cracked in the first place. By coming into our office for an evaluation with one of our physical therapists in Merrick, you can receive a full movement assessment to determine exactly which muscles are underworking and which ones are overworking.

Hip Troubleshooting Cheat Sheet

If you fall into the first category and are experiencing general hip pain, keep track of the following before your appointment:

• Do you feel stiff for over 30 minutes after waking up?
• Do your hips hurt more when you go up/down stairs?
• Can you lay on the affected hip at night?
• Are you struggling to put your socks/ shoes on compared to the opposite leg?
• Is your pain located in your groin (joint/tendon issues) or side of the hip (bursa)?

How Can Summit PT Help You Find Relief from Sudden Hip Pain?

Life is too short to feel pinched every time you walk through Cammanns Pond Park or down Merrick Ave. At Summit Physical Therapy, we pride ourselves on providing empathetic and evidence-based care to our patients. That means when you walk through our doors injured or in pain, we treat you like we would want our family to be treated.

Using state-of-the-art manual therapy techniques, we can help alleviate your pain and decrease your inflammation. But we won’t stop there. Our advanced software allows us to analyze every aspect of your movement to see what may be stressing your hip.

Say goodbye to that annoying “pinch” in your hip with personalized exercise programs designed to build a “corset” of muscles around the hip joint. Let us help you take your mobility back.

Ready to take the first step?

Come see us for a full evaluation. You don’t have to struggle through life with unknown pain. Schedule an appointment with our physical therapists in Merrick today and start your journey to long-term recovery.

Hip Pain Rehab Questions

Can sitting too much cause sudden hip pain?

ABSOLUTELY. If you sit for long periods of time, your hip flexors can become “tight,” and your butt muscles can become weak. When you stand up too quickly from your chair/sitting position, those tight hip flexors can cause sudden pain or spasm. It can also cause inflammation in your bursa.

Should I heat or ice my hip?

It depends on the type of pain you’re feeling. If you’re experiencing a sharp, sudden pain, icing is typically best. Heat tends to work better for dull, aching pains. If you’re experiencing a new pain, start with icing for 15 minutes several times a day.

Could sudden hip pain be arthritis?

Yes! While arthritis is a long-term degenerative condition, it can have episodes of increased inflammation. This can cause your hip to suddenly feel stiff and painful without a clear injury. A physical therapist can help you determine if arthritis is the cause through a physical examination.