Hip PainAdelaide

What Hip Pain Looks Like

Hip pain covers a regional cluster of mechanical patterns. The hip joint, the gluteal tendons, the lumbar spine, and the sacroiliac region all refer pain into the same area. The job of assessment is to sort out which pattern fits.

Typical features we hear about include:

• Location ranging from the groin, the front of the hip, the bony point on the side of the hip (greater trochanter), the buttock, or referral into the thigh or knee.
• Aggravators including prolonged sitting, stairs, deep hip flexion (squatting, getting in and out of a low chair), lying on the affected side at night, walking on uneven ground, and getting out of the car.
• Easing often with gentle movement, warm showers, short walks, and avoiding the direct provocation for a few days.
• Morning stiffness is common with hip osteoarthritis and tends to ease with gentle movement over 15 to 30 minutes.
• Night pain on the affected side is a common feature of lateral hip pain (greater trochanteric pain syndrome) and waking because of the hip is a common trigger for seeking care.

Sorting Out Which Pattern Fits

Hip pain is an umbrella. The more specific patterns below each behave differently and respond to different emphasis in care. Naming the pattern helps shape the plan.

Assessment may find one pattern dominant, or a mix of contributors. Care is tailored to what the examination finds, not to the label alone.

How We Assess Hip Pain

A structured bedside examination looks at the hip, lumbar spine, and sacroiliac region together. The goal is to identify the dominant contributor and rule out anything that warrants urgent medical review.

A typical assessment includes:

• History screen covering onset, pattern of pain, aggravators, night pain, work and activity load, prior hip or back history, and any red-flag features.
• Hip range and strength testing in flexion, extension, abduction, and rotation, including gluteal strength and provocation tests for FAI and gluteal tendinopathy.
• Lumbar and sacroiliac screen with range, palpation, and movement patterns, as research suggests the lumbar spine and SI joint are common sources of referred hip pain.
• Gait and functional observation watching sit-to-stand, single-leg stance, and a short walk, looking for Trendelenburg pattern and compensatory movement.
• Red-flag screen for infective, inflammatory, neoplastic, fracture, vascular, and neurological presentations that sit outside musculoskeletal scope.

After the examination, findings are explained in plain English, along with what we think is driving the pattern and what the options are. If imaging, a GP review, an orthopaedic opinion, or a rheumatology review would add useful information, we will say so.

What the Research Suggests

Conservative manual therapy, graded exercise, and load guidance feature in mainstream guidelines for musculoskeletal hip pain. The studies below summarise what the research suggests, not what any individual person will experience.

How Chiropractic Care May Help

Research suggests conservative manual therapy, combined with graded loading and load guidance, may help manage musculoskeletal hip pain. Care is tailored to how your hip, lumbar spine, and sacroiliac region respond to assessment. Individual responses vary.

At Stapleton Chiropractic, care for hip pain typically includes:

• Detailed history and red-flag screen to confirm the presentation is mechanical and to rule out anything that warrants urgent medical review.
• Hip and pelvis mobilisation using gentle techniques, with attention to the lumbar spine and sacroiliac region as common kinetic-chain contributors.
• Low-force options using an Activator instrument or drop-piece table where appropriate. Both are well-tolerated and suited to an irritated or guarded hip.
• Diversified manual adjustment for patients comfortable with hands-on adjusting, applied to the lumbar spine, sacroiliac region, and thoracolumbar junction as clinically indicated.
• Soft tissue techniques for the gluteal muscle bellies, tensor fascia lata, iliotibial band, and lumbar paraspinal regions that often guard around an irritated hip.
• Graded loading and lifestyle guidance for work, sleep positions, and activity, so the aggravators settle while the tissues recover. For lateral hip pain, this includes advice on side-lying sleep posture and avoidance of leg-crossing during a flare.

Progress is reviewed at each visit. There are no lock-in plans, and the decision to continue is always yours. If your response to care is not what we would expect, we will reassess and, where appropriate, discuss referral pathways back to your GP, to imaging, to an orthopaedic opinion, or to a colleague in another discipline.

Chiropractic vs Physiotherapy vs GP plus Orthopaedic Surgeon

Hip pain care is almost always a team sport. Here is where each role typically sits.

If we feel you would benefit from a different approach, we will always let you know. Cold laser (ACL11 Cold Laser) operates from the same building and may be discussed during consultation when suitable for tendon-related hip pain.

Why Stapleton Chiropractic

Adult-first, evidence-informed, and family-run since 1972. No lock-in plans, clear pricing, and the decision is always yours.

What Your First Visit Looks Like

Four straightforward steps. No paperwork marathons, no surprises.

Transparent Affordable Fees

No lock-in plans, no pressure. Fees sit well below the South Australian average.

Source: Australian Chiropractors Association Consultation Fee Survey 2025 (SA data). All major health funds accepted.

Warning Signs That Warrant Urgent Medical Review

Most hip pain is mechanical and not an emergency. A small number of presentations do need urgent medical review, because hip pain may occasionally be the presenting feature of something more serious.

Seek urgent medical review (GP, healthdirect 1800 022 222, or emergency department) if your hip pain is accompanied by any of the following:

• Fever, night sweats, or malaise alongside a hot, swollen, very tender hip. May suggest septic arthritis, which is a medical emergency.
• Inability to bear weight after a fall, trauma, or twist. May suggest fracture and warrants imaging before any manual therapy.
• Severe night pain unrelieved by rest, pain that wakes you regularly and does not settle with position change. May warrant GP review for investigation.
• Unexplained weight loss, history of cancer, or new bony hip pain that feels different from prior musculoskeletal pain. May warrant prompt imaging.
• Progressive weakness, numbness, or loss of bladder or bowel control. May suggest a serious neurological cause including cauda equina syndrome; emergency department review is appropriate.
• Sudden groin and front-of-thigh pain with pale, cold, or pulseless lower limb. May suggest vascular compromise; emergency department review is appropriate.
• Known immunosuppression, recent joint injection, or intravenous drug use with new hip pain. May raise the suspicion of joint infection.
• Children with hip pain, fever, and a limp. Always warrants urgent GP or emergency review.

If any of these apply, please do not wait for a chiropractic appointment. Contact your GP, call healthdirect on 1800 022 222, or attend your nearest emergency department. These features may indicate a condition that warrants urgent medical review, rather than a mechanical hip issue. When in doubt, please speak to your GP first.

Frequently Asked Questions