Gluteal Tendinopathy: Outer Hip Pain Causes, Symptoms & Relief

It aches on the outside of your hip when you climb the stairs, it wakes you up when you roll onto that side at night, and crossing your legs makes it worse. Many people are told it’s “hip bursitis,” but the most common source of this pain is actually gluteal tendinopathy, irritation of the glute tendons where they attach on the side of the hip.

Here’s what gluteal tendinopathy is, the symptoms to look for, the everyday habits that keep it irritated, and how physical therapy fixes it.

What Is Gluteal Tendinopathy?

Gluteal tendinopathy is the main local source of lateral hip pain, also called greater trochanteric pain syndrome. It used to be labeled trochanteric bursitis. The pain sits over the greater trochanter, the bony point on the side of your hip, and can spread down the outside of the thigh.

It’s common, especially in women between their 40s and 60s, and it can have a real impact on quality of life. One reason women are affected more often is that they tend to have a wider angle at the hip, which increases compression on the tendon.

Symptoms of Gluteal Tendinopathy

• Outer hip pain: pain on the outside of the hip that can spread down the outside of the thigh toward the knee
• Stairs: worse going up and/or down stairs
• Side lying: worse lying on the painful side, and sometimes on the other side too
• Crossing your legs: worse when you sit with your legs crossed
• Daily activity: standing, walking and sitting for long periods can all aggravate it

If your pain feels more like a hot, swollen spot on the side of the hip, read our guide to hip bursitis causes, symptoms and treatment.

When to Get Your Hip Checked Right Away

• After a fall: hip pain after a fall or injury, especially if it hurts to stand on the leg
• Fever or redness: a hot, red or swollen hip, or feeling unwell
• Numbness or weakness: in the leg, or pain that runs below the knee
• Constant night pain: pain that doesn’t change with position or rest

How Gluteal Tendinopathy Is Diagnosed

A thorough examination of the hip, lower back and pelvis is needed to work out whether the pain is coming from the tendon itself or from somewhere farther away, like the lower back. Where your pain is reproduced during testing gives your physical therapist valuable information and makes the diagnosis more accurate.

What You Can Do at Home

1. Stand evenly: avoid “hip hitching,” where you push or drop one hip out to the side. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, spread your weight evenly between both feet, and keep your pelvis level to reduce compression on the glute tendon and IT band.
2. Sleep smarter: lying on your side can compress the tendons on either hip. If the pain is severe, you may need to avoid sleeping on that side for a few weeks. If you sleep on your good side, put a firm, thick pillow between your knees to keep your top knee in line with your hip.
3. Uncross your legs: sitting with one leg crossed over the other increases compression on the gluteal tendons. Sit with your knees hip-width apart and your feet on the floor.
4. Keep exercising: gluteal tendinopathy is often degenerative and needs ongoing load. If it gets worse with more rest, that’s a sign you need to keep moving. Sitting around waiting for it to “heal” usually won’t help.

Once the pain settles, building hip strength is key. Our guide to the best exercises for hip stability shows how to progress.

How Physical Therapy Treats Gluteal Tendinopathy

Tendons don’t heal well with rest alone, and they don’t like being overloaded either. The goal is the right amount of load, progressed at the right pace. At Back In Motion Physical Therapy & Performance, The Gray Method™ looks at why the tendon is overloaded in the first place, such as weak glutes, how you stand and walk, or stiffness elsewhere in the chain, and fixes that while the tendon gets stronger. Our tendon treatment combines hands-on care with a progressive strengthening plan.

For a real example, read how Marsha got back to running after gluteal tendinopathy.

Get Rid of Outer Hip Pain for Good

If you’re unsure where or how to start, our hip pain treatment in Fort Myers can help you get moving again with The Gray Method™, one-on-one with a Doctor of Physical Therapy at our clinics in Fort Myers, Cape Coral and Estero.

Start with our Fixing the Cause & Not Just the Symptoms Assessment, or Inquire About an Appointment →

Call our office at (239) 223-0484 to schedule your appointment.