Hip pain can be a result of several different factors, it may be due to hip bursitis, arthritis or the result of an "out of balance" body structure. People who have hip pain have it whether they exercise or not. Sometimes the pain will get worse with long periods of sitting in one position. And it can be especially painful when getting out of a chair.
If you are a fitness student who seldom misses a day of sweat, you will have more chance to end up with a hip bursitis problem. It is often an overuse injury from weight bearing moves such as jogging or aerobics. Bursae sacs that are in the hip area, are filled with a protein-rich synovial fluid that lubricates and separates moving parts while you run. When you overdo your impact moves, as in longer timed runs, or you increase the range of motion of your hip, you may cause irritation which can increase the amount of fluid in the bursa sac and cause it to swell. Thus the pressure, the pain and the loss of range of motion in the hip.
Your pain will be located in the bursa area between the iliotibial band and the greater trochanter of the femur. That's about four inches down from the top of your hip on the outside. Tap it and see if you have any pain.
Now, if you have one longer leg, one higher hip, or you are generally out of balance structurally, you will put more pressure on one hip than another, and it will be in that hip that you will feel the pain. Shifting gears in your car can put a strain on one hip continuously, causing low grade pain. Heavy purses slung over a shoulder, kids carried on one hip and even groceries balanced on the hip can result in hip pain.
Arthritis is not an overuse injury. It is a progressive degeneration of the joint structures and needs to be treated differently. Maintenance of joint flexibility and moderate types of movement will usually help relieve the pain of hip arthritis. Do slow, low impact movements that concentrate on range of motion, maybe even in a chair, if that relieves the pressure on the hip joint. Talk to your doctor about medication and heat or cold application.
Get your doctor's advice on how to handle hip pain, whether it is the low grade chronic type or the occasional sharp pain of hip bursitis. A simple change of movement, or change in weight distribution, may be all that you need to relieve your pain.
(Jerry Vance is certified by the American Council on Exercise and teaches fitness at the Carson City Community Center and for the American Lung Association.)