Hip Pain During Perimenopause: Causes, Exercises, and Treatment Options
Hip pain in perimenopause is often hormonal. This guide covers why it happens, the best exercises to protect your hips, and when to seek further help.
Why Hips Often Hurt During Perimenopause
The hip is a complex joint supported by muscles, tendons, bursae, and ligaments, all of which have estrogen receptors. As estrogen falls during perimenopause, several things can go wrong at once. Cartilage in the hip joint thins more readily. The tendons of the gluteal muscles, which attach to the outer hip, become more prone to inflammation. The bursa on the outer hip can also become irritated, leading to a condition called greater trochanteric pain syndrome. Some women also notice sacroiliac joint discomfort at the back of the pelvis, which can feel like hip pain and is influenced by hormonal changes to ligament laxity.
Types of Hip Pain and Their Characteristics
Greater trochanteric pain syndrome causes aching on the outer hip and thigh, typically worse when lying on that side, climbing stairs, or crossing the legs. Hip osteoarthritis tends to produce a deeper groin ache that radiates to the thigh or buttock and limits rotation of the joint. Referred pain from the lower back can mimic hip pain and is common in perimenopause when both regions are affected simultaneously. Knowing roughly where your pain is and what movements trigger it helps your doctor or physiotherapist target treatment accurately.
When to Get Medical Advice
Arrange an appointment if hip pain is severe, if you are limping, or if the pain has not improved after six to eight weeks of appropriate self-management. Your doctor may request an X-ray to check for osteoarthritis or, if a tendon problem is suspected, an ultrasound or MRI. Groin pain that is constant and not related to movement can occasionally indicate referred pain from the abdomen or pelvis, which also needs proper evaluation.
The Most Effective Exercises
For greater trochanteric pain, the key is loading the gluteal tendons progressively. Isometric exercises (pressing the hip outward against a wall without movement) are often the safest starting point. As pain settles, side-lying clamshells, lateral band walks, and single-leg exercises build hip stability. For general hip health during perimenopause, squats, deadlifts, and hip hinges are excellent. Avoid prolonged periods of sitting with legs crossed, and try not to rest on the painful hip at night. Low-impact activities like swimming and cycling maintain cardiovascular fitness without aggravating hip pain.
Self-Care Between Exercise Sessions
Ice applied to the outer hip for 10 to 15 minutes after activity helps manage tendon irritation. Heat is better for deep muscular aching and stiffness. Omega-3 fatty acids and curcumin both have anti-inflammatory properties that may help with background pain. Collagen supplementation supports tendon and cartilage health over the longer term. Checking your posture when standing (avoiding habitual hip popping to one side) reduces uneven loading on the hip tendons.
Medical and Hormonal Treatments
HRT addressing low estrogen often improves hip pain in perimenopausal women, particularly where cartilage and tendon health is the underlying issue. A physiotherapist with experience in hip conditions can provide a structured rehabilitation programme that significantly speeds recovery. Corticosteroid injections are useful for bursitis and early tendinopathy when pain is limiting exercise. For advanced hip osteoarthritis unresponsive to other treatment, hip replacement is a highly effective procedure, though it is rarely needed until menopause has fully established.
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