Hip pain refers to discomfort arising in one or both hips, and its assessment can be challenging due to the number of interacting structures that form the hip joint. The hip is a large, loadbearing, flexible joint over which numerous muscles, arteries, nerves, and ligaments traverse, and any of these structures may contribute to hip pain in isolation or combination. Epidemiological research shows that symptomatic hip osteoarthritis affects approximately 10% of adults over 45 (Fan et al., 2023), and in population studies, hip pain prevalence in older adults ranges from 14% to 36% depending on age and sex (Dawson et al., 2004). Manual workers experience disproportionately higher rates of hip symptoms, with occupational loading identified as a major risk factor in longitudinal cohorts (Nelson et al., 2022).
Hip pain may present in the lower back, buttock, groin, lateral hip, or thigh, and may even radiate toward the knee or foot due to referred nerve pain. Radiating symptoms are typical of hip‑related disorders because of the number of nerves that traverse through the hip. In clinical practice, up to 44% of individuals with hip osteoarthritis identified on XRAY report pain beyond the hip region (Rondas et al., 2022), illustrating how pain referral patterns complicate diagnosis. One of the most important clinical truths is that hip pain rarely exists in isolation; it is almost always influenced by movement patterns, loading habits, and adjacent anatomical structures.
Hip pain arises from irritation, inflammation, or degeneration of tissues within or surrounding the joint. Common contributors include traumatic injury, joint degeneration, muscular tightness, tendon inflammation, and age‑related arthritic change. Global burden data indicate that hip osteoarthritis accounts for more than 17 million years lived with disability worldwide (Cross et al., 2014). The interplay between muscles, bones, ligaments, and nerves determines how hip pain develops and how it behaves during movement. In clinical terms, structure–symptom mismatch is one of the biggest challenges in hip pain assessment, because radiographic changes do not always correlate with symptom severity (Rondas et al., 2022). This reality reinforces a key principle: the source of hip pain cannot be determined by imaging alone.
Hip pain can originate from muscular, bony, joint, ligamentous, or neurological structures, and effective management depends on identifying which of these systems is driving the symptoms. The hip is a load‑bearing joint, and load is often the decisive factor in symptom onset. Movement quality is one of the strongest predictors of hip pain persistence, and this makes functional assessment essential in every case. Understanding the interaction between structure, movement, and pain is the foundation of accurate diagnosis and targeted treatment.
Management and assessment of Hip Pain depends on the cause of the pain, how it feels and changes over the day, what makes it better or worse, and the length of time you have been experiencing the pain. These details are carefully explored during your first assessment, which sets the foundation for reducing pain and improving comfort. Your treatment plan will be personalised to target the underlying cause, with a focus on easing discomfort, restoring pain-free movement, and building strategies to lower the chance of future flare-ups.
At Atlas Physio, we support you with clear guidance, structured care, and ongoing monitoring both in the clinic and at home. We make access simple by being open seven days a week, offering evening appointments, providing bulk billing for eligible clients, and ensuring no gap fees for WorkCover or TAC clients. Get in touch today to take the first step toward moving with ease and confidence, supported by care that is practical, dependable, and designed to deliver lasting results.
REFERENCES
Cross, M., Smith, E., Hoy, D., Nolte, S., Ackerman, I., Fransen, M., Bridgett, L., Williams, S., Guillemin, F., Hill, C. L., Laslett, L. L., Jones, G., Cicuttini, F., Osborne, R., Vos, T., Buchbinder, R., Woolf, A., & March, L. (2014). The global burden of hip and knee osteoarthritis: Estimates from the Global Burden of Disease 2010 study. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 73(7), 1323–1330.
Dawson, J., Linsell, L., Zondervan, K., Rose, P., Randall, T., Carr, A., & Fitzpatrick, R. (2004). Epidemiology of hip and knee pain and its impact on overall health status in older adults. Rheumatology, 43(4), 497–504.
Fan, Z., Yan, L., Liu, H., Li, X., Fan, K., Liu, Q., Li, J. J., & Wang, B. (2023). The prevalence of hip osteoarthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Arthritis Research & Therapy, 25(1).
Nelson, A. E., Hu, D., Arbeeva, L., Alvarez, C., Cleveland, R. J., Schwartz, T. A., Murphy, L. B., Helmick, C. G., Callahan, L. F., Renner, J. B., Jordan, J. M., & Golightly, Y. M. (2022). Point prevalence of hip symptoms, radiographic, and symptomatic OA at five time points: The Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project, 1991–2018. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage Open, 4(2).
Rondas, G. A. M., Macri, E. M., Oei, E. H. G., Bierma-Zeinstra, S. M. A., Rijkels-Otters, H. B. M., & Runhaar, J. (2022). Association between hip pain and radiographic hip osteoarthritis in primary care: The CHECK cohort. British Journal of General Practice, 72(723), e722–e728.