When you have painful arthritic hip joints, your exercise program needs to target 3 key muscle groups:
- Pelvic muscles
- Buttock muscles
- Inner thigh (groin) muscles
Stretching and strengthening these stabilizing muscles enhances shock absorption and protects the hip during movement – providing meaningful pain relief, preventing further joint damage, and allowing the joint to heal.
Here are 5 exercises that are gentle on the joint yet powerful in strengthening the surrounding muscles and soft tissues.
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1. Leg raises
The leg raise exercise strengthens the muscles in the lower back, buttocks, and groin, reducing stress and further damage to the arthritic hip joint. With consistent use, this exercise reduces hip arthritis pain by strengthening the joint and the surrounding muscles.
Here are 3 ways you can perform this exercise to target different muscle groups around the hip and thigh:
- Leg raises away from the body’s midline:
- Start position: Lie on your side and place a towel or your arm under your head to support your head and neck.
- Adjust your legs: Bend the knee in contact with the ground while keeping the top leg straight.
- Raise your top leg: Tighten your abdominal muscles and slowly raise the top leg 10-15 inches away from the ground till you feel a stretch along the inner side of the thigh and/or an engagement of the muscles on the outer side of your buttock.
- Hold this position: Stay in this position for 3 to 5 seconds and bring your leg down but don’t touch the ground.
- Repeat: Repeat the exercise 10 to 15 times on both sides. Perform this exercise once per day.
- Leg raises towards the body’s midline:
- Start position: Lie on your side with a chair close to your feet. Place a towel or your arm under your head to support your head and neck and extend the body to form a straight line with legs stacked on each other.
- Prop your top leg: Move closer to the chair and prop your top ankle on the chair so that your top leg and foot are resting on the chair and your bottom leg and foot are under the chair.
- Raise your lower leg: Tighten your abdominal muscles, and keeping your hips on the ground, slowly raise your bottom leg 10-15 inches away from the ground till you feel a stretch along the inner side of your thigh.
- Hold this position: Stay in this position for 3 to 5 seconds and bring your leg down but don’t touch the ground.
- Repeat: Repeat the exercise 10 to 15 times on both sides. Perform this exercise once per day.
- Leg raises lying face down:
- Start position: Lie in a face-down position.
- Raise one leg: Tighten your abdominal muscles and slowly raise one leg 10-15 inches away from the ground without bending your knee until you feel a stretch along the front side of your thigh and/or an engagement of the muscles in your buttock.
- Hold this position: Stay in this position for 3 to 5 seconds and bring your leg down but don’t touch the ground.
- Repeat: Repeat the exercise 10 to 15 times on both sides. Perform this exercise once per day.
You can try all 3 variations and see what works best for you. You can also alternate between each variation.
2. Hip flexor stretch
The hip flexors are a group of 5 muscles located in front of and around the hip joint, and function to bend the hip and raise the legs. Tight hip flexors stress the hip joint – making it stiff and painful for you to perform everyday activities such as walking, standing up, and bending forward.
The hip flexor stretch elongates the flexor muscles, reducing hip flexor pain associated with hip osteoarthritis, hip flexor tears, hip impingement, and hip labral tears.
To perform the hip flexor stretch:
- Start position: Stand in front of a sturdy surface, such as a table or chair, and place both your hands on it for support.
- Move each leg individually:
- Move your left leg slightly forward and bend your left knee.
- Move your right leg behind you and keep both feet flat on the floor.
- Shift your weight: Keeping your back straight, shift your weight forward until you feel a gentle stretch through the front of your right hip.
- Hold the stretch: Hold this position for about 30 seconds.
- Repeat: Return to the starting position and repeat this stretch 3 times on each side. Perform this stretch once per day.
To make this stretch easier, lift your back heel off the floor.
To add the challenge of balancing while in this stretch, perform the steps without support by placing your hands on your hips.
See more Hip Flexor Stretches
3. Piriformis stretch
This exercise stretches a deep buttock muscle called the piriformis, which enables rotational and side-to-side movements of the thigh. A tight piriformis (piriformis syndrome) can cause hip pain and/or buttock pain when you lift your leg.
Read more about Piriformis Syndrome on Spine-health.com
The piriformis stretch elongates this muscle and reduces stress in the hip joint alleviating pain associated with hip osteoarthritis.
To perform the piriformis stretch:
- Start position: Sit tall in a chair.
- Position your leg: Place your ankle on top of your opposite knee. You should feel a gentle stretch through the buttock.
- Hold the stretch: Hold this position for about 30 seconds.
- Repeat: Return to the starting position and repeat this stretch 3 times on each side. Perform this stretch once per day.
To make this stretch easier, lean back in the chair a little.
For a deeper stretch, fold forward without arching your back or neck.
4. Bridge
This exercise strengthens the core and buttock muscles, which improves posture and stability in the lower body, reducing hip osteoarthritis pain when you bend or move your leg.
To perform the bridge exercise:
- Start position: Lie on your back, bend both your knees, and place your feet flat on the ground.
- Lift your hips: Put your hands on the ground, press into your palms, and lift your hips as high as you can comfortably. You should feel a stretch along the front of your hips and thighs and an engagement of the muscles in your buttocks.
- Hold this position: Stay in this position for about 10 seconds.
- Repeat: Return to the starting position and repeat the exercise 10 times. Perform this exercise twice a day.
Single-leg bridge
For a more challenging exercise, try the single-leg bridge exercise:
- Start position: Lay on your back with your feet flat on the floor and palms facing down.
- Extend one leg: Straighten out your right leg without bending the knee.
- Lift your hips: Tighten your abdominal and buttock muscles, push into the ground with your left heel, and lift your hips off the ground. You should feel a stretch along the front of your hips and thighs and an engagement of the muscles in your buttocks.
- Hold this position. Stay in this position for 2 to 5 seconds.
- Repeat: Return to the starting position and repeat the exercise 10 times. Perform this exercise twice a day.
To make this exercise easier, limit how far off the ground you lift your hips.
For a more challenging exercise, place the foot that’s pressed into the ground on an elevated surface, such as a yoga block.
5. Clamshell lift
This exercise strengthens the muscles along the outer edge of your buttocks, the pelvis, and the groin. It helps create a balance between your pelvis and thighs, reducing hip osteoarthritis pain when you walk or run.
To perform the clamshell lift exercise:
- Start position: Lie on your side, with your legs stacked and knees bent at a 45° angle. Place your arm under your head for support. Stack your hip bones on top of one another, and avoid rocking the top hip backward.
- Raise one knee: Tighten your stomach muscles, keep your lower leg on the floor, and raise your upper knee as high as possible without shifting your hips or pelvis. You should feel a stretch along your inner thigh and an engagement of the muscles in your buttocks.
- Hold this position: Stay in this position for 2 to 3 seconds.
- Repeat: Return to the starting position and repeat the exercise 10 times. Perform this exercise twice a day.
To make this exercise more challenging, loop a resistance band around your thighs, a little above your knee.
Tips for doing exercises for hip osteoarthritis without pain
Use these tips to help you get started with a hip exercise program without increasing your hip pain:
- Get started with 1 or 2 exercises per day, slowly adding more as you build strength and endurance.
- Before starting the stretches, use heat therapy by placing a heat pack on your hip, buttock, or front of the upper thigh to increase blood flow to the hips and relieve tightness in the soft tissues.
- After stretching, apply an ice pack to reduce swelling and inflammation and numb exercise-related aches and pains.
- Perform the exercises regularly and consistently to prevent future pain and injury.
If any exercise increases your hip pain or causes pain to travel down your leg, stop and seek guidance from a licensed trained doctor or physical therapist. They can customize these stretches and exercises to suit your specific needs and recommend the most suitable approach for your hip osteoarthritis.
If you’re unable to exercise due to severe hip pain, consult with your doctor about pain relief options. For example, pain-relieving medications or cortisone injections given directly into the hip joint – called an intra-articular injection, can provide enough pain relief for you to get started with physical rehabilitation.
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