9 Simple Hacks to Relieve Hip Pain At Home
Whether standing, walking, or climbing stairs, we need our hips for just about every physical activity! So, when the joint we need for everyday movement isn’t at its best, neither are we.
While you should always visit your doctor for chronic or severe pain, there are some hip pain relief treatment options you can try on your own. There are a range of options, from light exercises to homeopathic remedies.
Let’s look at the common causes of hip pain, some of the best at-home hip pain treatments, and when to contact your doctor.
1. Start Your Day with the Right Stretches for Mobility
It is fairly common to get tight hip flexor muscles if you spend a lot of time sitting, running, or biking. Because everything in your body is connected, you’ll need to work the hip flexors and the surrounding muscles and joints that support them.
For example, when your hips feel tight, it can cause overuse of the spine, resulting in pain in your lower back. Adding hip stretches and mobility exercises will support the muscles and joints in the back and spine.
These are the best mobility exercises to stay active. Plus, you can try these hip-opening stretches and the best yoga poses to relieve tight hips.
2. Evaluate Your Feet
Sometimes, hip pain can signal problems with how you’re walking or the type of shoes you wear.
If you’re a runner, make sure your shoes have adequate cushioning and support. Chiropractors can also help assess your gait (i.e., how you naturally walk) and see if you over or under-pronate your foot.
Pronation is how your foot rolls inward when you walk and run. Under or overpronation can cause hip issues because your gluteus muscles have to work extra hard to overcompensate.
3. Work Your Thigh Muscles
Your thigh muscles help support your hips more than you may think! If you suffer from arthritis in particular, strengthening those thigh muscles will help support your hips more and hopefully lessen your pain.
Try these exercises that strengthen the thigh muscles or add leg lifts and pilates moves that target the hips and thighs into your exercise routine.
Also, be sure to check out our hip-strengthening exercises for seniors.
4. Get More Exercise (But Avoid High-Impact Workouts)
Movement, in general, is also a great way to strengthen a weak hip. Try lower-impact options like walking or cycling, and avoid high-impact activities like running and jumping. Low impact doesn’t have to mean ineffective. All of our favorite picks for the best hip exercises for seniors will help strengthen your hips!
If stability is a problem for you, feel free to grab a chair, couch, or even the wall to hold onto while performing these standing exercises. The more you do these hip exercises, the more you will develop stability and balance.
5. Give Water Aerobics a Try
Swimming and water exercises are amazing, low-impact exercises. The body is unweighted in water, making it easier to exercise for longer, with less impact. Plus, resistance in water can be anywhere from 4 to 42 times greater than on land, making a pool or body of water a natural weight-training machine!
These are our favorite pool exercises for seniors, plus a 30-minute pool workout to help you get started. Walking and yoga are other great low-impact exercise options.
6. Know the Difference Between Hot and Cold Therapy
It’s helpful to understand when to use hot vs. cold therapy to treat your hip pain.
Cold Therapy
For new injuries or acute pain, it’s a good idea to use cold therapy, like ice or a cooling gel pack.
- Ice not only numbs the pain but will decrease inflammation and swelling.
- You do not want to use heat to treat acute injuries because it can increase inflammation, delaying your healing.
Heat Therapy
For chronic injuries or arthritis pain, you’ll want to use heat therapy like soaking in a warm tub, or applying a hot compress or heating pad.
- Heat works best for chronic pain because it increases blood flow and helps relax and soothe those tight or painful joints.
- It’s best to apply heat before a workout if you have chronic pain, not after, as that can aggravate your muscles.
7. Try Acupuncture
This 3000-year-old Chinese practice is used to treat a variety of ailments, from muscle pain to depression. Chronic hip pain sufferers may consider acupuncture as an alternative therapy option that doesn’t involve hip surgery or drug treatment.
8. Try to Maintain a Healthy Weight
Carrying excess weight can contribute to hip pain, as your hip is a weight-bearing joint. The more weight you have to support while walking and moving, the more strain your hips feel.
As we previously mentioned, even just one pound of weight loss can feel like removing six pounds of pressure from your hips.
Getting rid of excess body weight can lessen the strain on your hips and improve your general health. Every little bit helps!
9. Prioritize Sleep
Of course, one of the best ways to treat hip pain at home is to rest. Identify whatever activity is causing the hip pain or making it worse, and take a break.
While your body does need movement and exercise to heal and build strength, initial rest can be important after an injury. For example, a mild, strained hip flexor could require one to three weeks of rest and treatment to recover, while a more severe case may take months.