Pain guide · Hip pain
Groin or front-of-hip pain, sometimes a deep C-shaped ache round the hip, in people from their teens to middle age. It tends to catch with deep bending, sitting low, getting out of a car, pivoting or kicking.
The most useful thing to know first: a bone shape or a labral tear on a scan is not, by itself, the cause of your pain. Many people without pain have the same findings.
Exercise is for pain that has been checked or is clearly mild and settling.
The Warwick Agreement defined femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) syndrome as symptoms, clinical signs and imaging findings together, so that a shape on a scan alone is never the diagnosis. The Zurich consensus adds that labral and cartilage changes often appear in people with no pain.
The standard clinical test for hip-related pain bends the hip deeply and turns the knee in. Positions close to that (deep squats with the knees caving in, sitting very low, pulling the knee toward the opposite shoulder) often pinch. Stretching into the pinch does not change a bone shape; build range back as strength improves.
Source 4
The International Hip-related Pain Research Network recommends exercise-based treatment for at least 3 months, staying physically active, and shared decisions. They are candid that strong trial evidence for physiotherapy is lacking and the best dose is unknown.
Source 5
In two UK trials, hip arthroscopy scored somewhat better than physiotherapy: by 6.8 points at 12 months in FASHIoN, and by about 9 to 10 points in FAIT, around the smallest difference patients notice. Neither blinded patients. A 2025 meta-analysis of 21 trials found the differences did not reach that threshold, and pain did not differ.
In plain terms: both help, physiotherapy carries less risk, and exercise is recommended first. If a good 3 months has not helped, it is reasonable to see a hip specialist.
The same consensus recommends keeping up physical activity, including sport, during treatment, and tracking progress with how the hip feels in daily life rather than with scans. Lower the volume or the hills when pain builds over a week, rather than stopping altogether.
Source 5
During the exercise, pain up to about 5 out of 10 is acceptable. It should settle within an hour or so, and your hip should be no worse that night or the next morning. If it is, do less next time (fewer repetitions, a smaller range, a lighter load), not nothing.
Pain can go up a little when you start a new exercise programme; guidelines for arthritis say so and still recommend keeping going. If pain climbs week after week, or a warning sign appears, stop and get it checked.
Start at the first stage. Each move opens a full guide with a 3D demo.
Weeks 0 to 2, two or three sessions a week. Stay active at a level the hip tolerates.
3D demoGlute bridgeBeginner · No equipment2 to 3 sets of 10
Easier: Pelvic tilt into bridge · Harder: Glute kickback (quadruped hip extension)
3D demoLying adductor ball squeezeBeginner · Other / check instructions5 holds of 5 to 10 s
Harder: Copenhagen plank
3D demoBird dogBeginner · No equipment2 sets of 6 each side
Easier: Bird dog, one limb at a time · Harder: Bodyweight get-up
3D demoHip Windshield WipersBeginner · No equipment10 slow reps, stop before any pinch
Harder: 90/90 hip lift-off
Move on when: These are comfortable and the hip is calm the next day.
Weeks 2 to 8.
3D demoDumbbell goblet squatIntermediate · A dumbbell3 sets of 8 to 10, to a box set above pinch depth
Easier: Bodyweight squat · Harder: Back squat with bands
3D demoSplit squatIntermediate · No equipment3 sets of 8 each side
Easier: Bodyweight squat · Harder: Reverse lunge
3D demoDumbbell Romanian deadliftIntermediate · A dumbbell3 sets of 8 to 10
Easier: Hip-hinge practice · Harder: Single-leg Romanian deadlift
3D demoLateral band walkBeginner · A band3 sets of 10 to 15 steps each way
Easier: Hip abduction machine · Harder: Side-lying leg raise
3D demoSide plankIntermediate · No equipment3 holds of 20 to 30 s each side · From the knees first
Easier: Knee side plank · Harder: Side plank with leg lift
Move on when: You can lower the box a little without bringing on the pinch.
Weeks 8 to 12 and beyond.
3D demoSingle-leg Romanian deadliftAdvanced · A dumbbell3 sets of 6 to 8 each side
Easier: Dumbbell Romanian deadlift · Harder: Full Nordic curl
3D demoRear-foot-elevated split squat (Bulgarian split squat)Intermediate · A bench or box3 sets of 6 to 8 each side
Easier: Reverse lunge · Harder: Split squat jump
3D demoPatrick step-downIntermediate · A step3 sets of 8 each side
Easier: Bodyweight squat · Harder: Skater squat
3D demoHip airplaneAdvanced · No equipment2 sets of 3 to 5 each side, holding a support
Easier: 90/90 hip lift-off
3D demoSingle-leg hop and stickIntermediate · No equipment2 to 3 sets of 5 each side, pain-monitored
Easier: Standing broad jump with stuck landing · Harder: Alternate-leg bounding
Move on when: Add change of direction and sport drills in short blocks, keeping the pain rule.
A 25-minute glute workout with bodyweight and a mini band: bridges, clamshells, band walks, kickbacks and lunges.
25 minBeginner9 movesA wall, A bandA 15-minute hip opener: 90/90 switches, windshield wipers, CARs, Cossack squats, frog and pigeon.
15 minIntermediate8 movesA wallNo trial lists forbidden exercises. The positions that usually pinch are deep bending with the knee turned in: deep squats with the knees caving, sitting very low, and pulling the knee to the opposite shoulder. Work just short of the pinch and let strength bring the range back.
Exercise does not glue a labrum back together, but many people with labral findings become pain-free and active with exercise-based treatment, which is why it is recommended first.
Often, yes, at a level the hip tolerates. The consensus supports staying active; reduce volume or hills if pain builds over the week.
If a good 3 months of progressive exercise has not helped and the pain limits your life, discuss surgery with a specialist, knowing the trials found its advantage over physiotherapy is modest.
Exercise education, not a diagnosis or treatment plan. It is written from the guidelines and studies listed above; review by a clinician is pending. If your pain follows an injury, is severe, is getting worse, or comes with any warning sign listed on this page, get it assessed. Health disclaimer.
