Hip Pain When Doing Lunges: Causes, Fixes and a Plan

When to get help first

Exercise is for pain that has been checked or is clearly mild and settling.

Get urgent medical help if

Call 999 or go to A&E: severe hip pain after a fall or injury, or you cannot stand, walk or put weight on the leg. In an older adult this can be a broken hip; the leg may be at an odd angle or look shorter. Don't drive yourself.
Call 999 or go to A&E: tingling or loss of feeling in the hip or leg after an injury.
Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if you have severe hip pain that started suddenly but you've not had a fall or injured your hip, your hip is swollen and feels hot, the skin around your hip has changed colour, or you have hip pain, feel generally unwell and have a high temperature (although not everyone has one) or feel hot, cold or shivery. A hot, swollen hip with a high temperature can be a joint infection.
Call 999 or go to A&E if your child gets sudden pain in their hip, knee or thigh (hip problems can sometimes be felt in the thigh or knee) or cannot put any weight on their leg. If your child is limping, ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 the same day. This applies to teenagers too, and in some children knee pain is the only sign.
Same day: a teenager with sudden pain at the front or top of the hip bone after a heavy lift, sprint, kick or jump, often with a pop. A piece of growth plate can pull off the pelvis (an avulsion fracture), and it needs an X-ray the same day.
Same day, and stop running now: groin or front-of-hip pain in a runner, sometimes felt in the thigh or knee, that builds with running, hurts with every step or at night, or hurts when the hip is turned to the end of its range. Keep weight off the leg, using crutches if you have them, and get an urgent GP appointment or help from NHS 111 the same day: a stress fracture of the hip (femoral neck) needs urgent imaging.
If the hip was replaced: severe hip pain, a leg that looks shorter or is turned unusually far in or out, a new bulge at the side of the hip, or walking that is suddenly difficult or painful can mean it has dislocated. Don't walk on it; go to A&E straight away.
Call 999 or go to A&E if you have sciatica on both sides, weakness or numbness in both legs that's severe or getting worse, or numbness around or under your genitals, or around your bottom (anus); if you find it hard to start peeing, cannot pee or cannot control when you pee; or if you do not notice when you need to poo or cannot control when you poo, and this is not normal for you. These could be symptoms of a serious back problem that needs to be treated in hospital as soon as possible.
Call 999 or go to A&E now if you have a femoral hernia (a small lump at the top of your thigh, in your groin) and very bad tummy pain, you feel sick or you're being sick, you cannot fart or poo, you have a high temperature or you feel hot, cold or shivery, or you've suddenly become confused. Do not drive to A&E. With any other hernia and pain in or around it, a bloated tummy, feeling or being sick, vomiting blood or vomit that looks like coffee grounds, constipation, a high temperature or feeling hot, cold or shivery, or sudden confusion, get help from NHS 111.
Same day (call NHS 111, or go to A&E if you feel very unwell): after a big or unusual session, such as a first spin class, a workout of 100 back squats, or intervals of wall sits, squats, lunges and jumps, a challenge or a new class, muscle pain, swelling or weakness far worse than the session explains, and dark pee (red, brown, tea or cola coloured), sometimes starting hours or days later. Dark pee isn't always there, so muscles far sorer, more swollen or weaker than the session explains still need the same-day check. It can be rhabdomyolysis, a breakdown of muscle that can harm the kidneys.

See a doctor or physiotherapist if

Hip pain that stops normal activities or disturbs sleep, keeps getting worse or keeps coming back, or has not improved after 2 weeks of looking after it at home.
Stiffness lasting more than 30 minutes after waking.
Painful catching or locking deep in the groin, or a hip that gives way: get it assessed.
Pain that has not improved after a good 3 months of exercise-based treatment: ask about a hip specialist.
A pop high on the inner thigh, then a large bruise, a dent or a gap you can feel, or weakness squeezing your legs together: get it assessed within days. It can be a complete tear of an adductor tendon. In one small series, athletes recovered without surgery, but the tear should be confirmed by an examination or a scan before you load it (our suggestion).
A pop or sudden sharp pain at the front of the hip or top of the thigh during a lunge, kick or sprint, then a large bruise, a dent, or real weakness lifting your knee: get it assessed within days. Most hip flexor strains settle with rehab, but a torn or pulled-off tendon may need a scan to plan treatment (our suggestion).
Outer hip pain that hasn't improved within 6 weeks of following this advice, or that gets worse: talk to a GP or physiotherapist. In many areas you can refer yourself.
No improvement after 3 months of good rehabilitation, or sudden weakness walking (a tendon tear is possible).
Hip or groin pain that hasn't settled after 6 weeks, especially with a normal X-ray, or new hip pain if you take high-dose steroids, drink heavily, or have sickle cell disease or lupus: ask your GP about an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan and a hip specialist. It can be avascular necrosis, which an X-ray can miss early on.
Bone pain that is constant or worse at night, especially with a lump, unexplained weight loss, fever or tiredness, or a past history of cancer.
A lump in the groin, upper thigh or tummy, especially one that appears when you cough or strain and goes when you lie down: see a GP, as it may be a true hernia. A femoral hernia (a small lump at the top of the thigh, mainly in women over 50, though it can happen to anyone) needs treating in hospital.
New or worsening pain, a limp or loss of function months or years after the operation: see your GP, who should refer you back to the orthopaedic team.

Where does it hurt?

Location narrows the likely causes; it does not diagnose.

The front of your back hip, a stretch or pull at the bottom of the lunge

Usually the hip flexors being stretched under load. A pinch rather than a stretch, deep at the front of the back hip, may be the front of the joint (our reading).

Read: Hip flexor pain →A deep pinch in the groin of your front leg at the bottom, sometimes with a C-shaped ache around the hip, also when sitting low or getting out of a car

The hip running out of bend; in a younger active adult, possibly hip impingement, which needs symptoms, an examination and a scan to agree.

Read: Hip impingement (FAI) →Deep groin pain with catching, locking or painful clicking

Possibly a labral tear, alone or with impingement; tears are also common in painless hips.

Read: Hip labral tear →A sudden sharp pain at the front of the hip or top of the thigh during a fast, jumping or heavy lunge, then sore lifting the knee

A hip flexor strain, or a strain of the rectus femoris, the thigh muscle that also lifts the knee. A large bruise, a dent or real weakness needs assessing within days.

Read: Quad strain →The inner thigh close to the groin, worse in side and wide lunges and squeezing your knees together

Adductor-related groin pain, the commonest acute groin injury in athletes.

Read: Groin strain →The bony point on the outside of the hip, worse in curtsy, crossover and single-leg work, lying on that side and crossing your legs

Usually gluteal tendinopathy, often called hip bursitis, commonest in women from about 40.

Read: Hip bursitis (gluteal tendinopathy) →Deep in the buttock at the sitting bone, worse in deep lunges, deep squats and hamstring stretches

High hamstring tendon pain, where deep hip bending squeezes the tendon.

Read: High hamstring tendinopathy →The groin and front of the thigh from mid-life, stiff to get going, worse in deep lunges and low chairs

Often hip arthritis, which is diagnosed without a scan from 45.

Read: Hip arthritis →A click or clunk at the front as you rise

Usually a snapping tendon, often painless.

Read: Snapping hip →The pubic bone, often both sides, in a sport with kicking and turning

Pubic-related groin pain.

Read: Osteitis pubis →Pain at the front or back of the pelvis in pregnancy, worse in lunges and wide stances

Pelvic girdle pain.

Read: Pelvic girdle pain (SPD) →A lump in the groin or at the top of the thigh, bigger when you strain

A possible hernia: see a GP, and read the warning signs.

Read: Groin pain →The buttock and down the leg, with pins and needles below the knee

The back rather than the hip.

Read: Sciatica →A teenager with a sudden pop and pain at the front of the hip bone during a sprint, kick, jump or heavy lunge

A piece of growth plate pulled off the pelvis: it needs an X-ray the same day, as the warning signs say.

Read: Hip pointer →Groin or front-of-hip pain in a runner that builds with every run

A possible stress fracture of the hip: see the warning signs first.

Read: Stress fracture →A replaced hip

Follow your team's precautions; a leg that suddenly looks shorter or turned needs A&E.

Read: Hip replacement →A child or teenager with hip, thigh or knee pain, or a limp

Get it checked the same day, as the warning signs say.

Read: Hip pain in children →

Understand it

What a lunge asks of the hip: two hips, two jobsEmerging evidence

At the bottom of a lunge or split squat, the front hip bends to about 93 to 101 degrees and does most of the work driving you back up: in 16 adults, a forward lunge was mainly a hip-extensor exercise, and added weight raised the work at the hip and ankle with little change at the knee. The back hip is pushed towards straight or beyond, which stretches the hip flexors on that side (the rectus femoris and the iliopsoas) and, in a computer model, loads the front of the hip joint more.

Stepping forward loaded the hip more than stepping back (9 men); a longer step shifted work from the knee to the hip (20 men); leaning forward deepened the front hip's bend and worked the glutes harder (10 adults); and side lunges put less load through the hip than forward lunges, and more through the knee and ankle (32 adults). A model of 53 young men put peak hip joint force at about 4.8 times body weight in a forward lunge, against 3.1 in a deep squat.

These are lab and computer studies of healthy, mostly young people; none measured the back hip in a lunge or anyone in pain. No study has counted hip pain caused by lunges, so this guide's map comes from lunge lab studies, hip consensus statements, trials and NHS pages.

Sources 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

The front of the hip: impingement, the labrum and the back legEmerging evidence

Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) syndrome is diagnosed only when symptoms, examination signs and imaging agree, and in active adults hip-related pain is mostly FAI syndrome, a shallow socket (dysplasia) or an unstable hip, or problems with the labrum (the rim of cartilage around the socket), the cartilage or the ligaments. A hip shape that causes impingement limited squat depth in 15 patients against 11 people without it. In 12 hips from people who had died, the front of the labrum was strained most when the hip bent and crossed in, and the front and outer labrum in full extension.

For the back leg, a hip model found more force at the front of the joint when the hip was extended, more so with weak glutes, and in 5 men, walking with 2 degrees more hip extension raised that modelled force by 24%. Rarely, in hips with a forward-twisted thigh bone, a computed tomography (CT) simulation found the hip impinging at the back in full extension; its authors call lunges not advisable for those hips, though they didn't test lunges. That a pinch at the front of the back hip may come from the joint is our reading of these models.

Sources 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

The groin, the hip flexors and the outer hipEmerging evidence

Groin pain in athletes is grouped as adductor-related, iliopsoas-related, inguinal-related, pubic-related and hip-related, with other causes such as a stress fracture of the hip and, in the young, growth plate problems. In 110 male athletes, adductor injuries were 66% of acute groin injuries and the hip flexors 15% to 25%; in 33 athletes with acute hip flexor injuries, these came from kicking, sprinting and changing direction. An examination is enough for adductor injuries, while a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan helps locate hip flexor injuries.

Outer hip pain is usually gluteal tendinopathy, the tendons of the side glutes squeezed against the bony point of the hip: excessive hip adduction (the thigh crossing in) and compression are key, which is why curtsy and crossover lunges tend to bother it (our reading; no study tested lunges). In adults aged 50 to 79, 15% of women had it on one side and 8.5% on both, against 6.6% and 1.9% of men.

Sources 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

Which hip pain needs checking quicklyStrong evidence

The NHS says call 999 for severe hip pain after a fall or injury, a leg you can't walk on or put weight on, or tingling or loss of feeling in the hip or leg after an injury; in an older adult, a fall with hip pain can be a broken hip. It says get an urgent GP appointment or call NHS 111 for sudden severe hip pain without a fall, a hot, swollen hip, a change in the colour of the skin, or hip pain with feeling unwell and a high temperature, though not everyone with a joint infection has one.

For children, one NHS page says call 999 for sudden hip, knee or thigh pain or a child who can't put weight on the leg, and get a limp checked the same day; another puts sudden hip pain at an urgent GP appointment or NHS 111. Our warning signs follow the stricter of the two. None of these is a lunge problem.

Sources 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

Scans, and how it usually goesStrong evidence

Shape changes and labral tears are common on scans of painless hips: across 2,114 hips without symptoms, cam shapes showed in 37% (55% in athletes) and labral damage in 68%, and in another review labral tears showed in 54% of people without hip pain against 62% with it. The Zurich consensus keeps advanced imaging for when more detail is needed. Scans matter for a teenager's pop at the front of the hip, a suspected stress fracture, a suspected complete adductor tear and hip pain after a fall.

No study follows hip pain from lunges. Adductor strains in 81 male athletes became pain-free in a median of 13 days and returned to full training in 18; most teenage avulsions heal without surgery (87% of 852 in a 2026 review), though 14% still had pain after 3 months in one large series; hip-related pain needs exercise-based treatment for at least 3 months; and outer hip pain improved in 51 of 65 people at a year with education and exercise. No one can promise a date.

Sources 25, 26, 9, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31

What helps, and how strong the evidence is

Direction, stride, lean and stance change the hip's loadEmerging evidence

The hip worked harder in the forward lunge than the reverse lunge (2.09 against 1.84 newton-metres per kilogram, 9 men), and the authors suggest progressing the hip from the single-leg squat to the reverse lunge to the forward lunge, choosing exercises that need less hip range for people at risk of impingement. Lengthening a split squat step from half to 1.2 times leg length raised the hip's load about 15% and lowered the knee's about 10%, with the front hip's bend barely changed; the authors favour a step of about one leg length.

Leaning forward deepened the front hip's bend, and an upright trunk reduced it (10 adults). The Bulgarian split squat was hip-dominant with less knee movement than the back squat (20 men). Feet in one line gave 23.5% more side-to-side sway than a hip-width stance, with the same muscle work (15 trained men). None of these studies tested people with hip pain, so the lunge changes in this guide are our reading of them.

Sources 1, 2, 5, 32, 33

Hip-related pain: exercise first, and surgery is only a little betterEmerging evidence

The Zurich consensus recommends exercise-based treatment for at least 3 months and staying active, sport included, though it found strong evidence for physiotherapist-led treatments lacking. In the UK FASHIoN trial (348 people), keyhole surgery beat personalised hip therapy by 6.8 points on a 100-point score at a year, just above the smallest difference patients notice, and both groups improved; in the FAIT trial (222 people), surgery led by 10 points at 8 months. The UK trial's physiotherapy programme advised reducing or avoiding deep bending, crossing in and turning in of the hip, and strengthening first in the range you have.

Sources 30, 34, 35, 36

Groin and hip flexor strains settle, and active training beats restEmerging evidence

Adductor strains in 81 male athletes were pain-free in a median of 13 days and back in full training in 18, with 8% injured again within a year; complete adductor tendon tears in 16 men returned to sport in a median of 69 days without surgery. In 68 athletes with long-standing adductor pain, 23 in the active training group returned to sport without groin pain, against 4 with passive treatment. The Copenhagen adduction programme cut groin problems by 41% in 652 male footballers, and among adductor exercises the Copenhagen adduction drew the highest muscle forces (15 adults).

Band hip flexor training, 3 times 10 minutes a week, from a weight you could lift 15 times to one you could lift 8, raised strength 17% in 6 weeks in 33 healthy adults, and strength training improved range of movement as much as stretching (11 trials). Most of this evidence comes from men in sport.

Sources 27, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42

Outer hip pain: education and exercise beat an injectionStrong evidence

In the LEAP trial (204 people with gluteal tendinopathy), education plus exercise beat a steroid injection and waiting at 8 weeks (51 of 66 reported success, against 38 of 65 and 20 of 68) and beat the injection at a year (51 of 65 against 36 of 63). Its programme taught control of the thigh crossing in during daily tasks, used holds, bridges, squats and sidestepping rather than lunges, and allowed no rise in pain over the bony point during functional exercises. In 21 healthy adults, a lunge drew about 48% of the side glute's maximum, against 81% for side-lying hip abduction, so lunges aren't the main outer hip exercise.

Sources 31, 43, 44, 18

Hip arthritis and a replaced hipMixed evidence

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) offers therapeutic exercise to everyone with hip arthritis and warns pain may rise at first. A 2026 Cochrane update found exercise probably eases hip arthritis pain slightly against no treatment (about 7 points out of 100, moderate certainty), a change unlikely to matter much to most people, while a national education and exercise programme improved pain by about 12 to 14 points in 9,825 people with no comparison group. Arthritis UK's hip exercises use supported squats no deeper than a right angle and no lunges.

The NHS says a replaced hip can dislocate, though it is not common, soon after surgery or many years later, and lists precautions while you recover: don't bend the hip past 90 degrees, don't cross your legs, and avoid exercise with jumping, sudden turns or a high risk of falling. In one woman with a replacement done from the front, the hip dislocated forwards at 16 months in a lunge-shaped yoga pose that pushed the back hip into extension and turned it out, though she had done weighted lunges regularly; two more case reports describe late dislocations during yoga. Precautions after a replacement done from the back didn't change dislocation rates in 6,900 people (about 2% with or without them).

Sources 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53

How much pain is OK while you exercise?

Up to about 5 out of 10, settled by the next morning, and stop above a pinchEmerging evidence

This guide uses the hip hub's rule, as our other hip guides do. 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. It comes from the LEAP trial programme for outer hip pain, which allowed up to 5 out of 10 in heavy, slow strengthening as long as it eased afterwards and wasn't worse that night or the next morning, and no rise in pain over the bony point of the hip during functional exercises. NICE says joint pain may rise when you start exercising with arthritis, and exercise into some pain did no worse than pain-free exercise in long-lasting pain (7 trials, 385 people).

For lunges (our suggestion, built on the same rule and our hip squat guide): a pinch at the front of the front hip is a depth signal, not a score to push through. Set your depth just above it, and go deeper only when that depth has been pinch-free for a week. With outer hip pain, keep the bony point on the side quiet during lunges, as the LEAP programme did in functional work. With a recent groin strain, keep side and wide lunges out until squeezing your knees together is pain-free (our groin strain guide).

Sharp, catching or locking pain deep in the groin, a hip that gives way, a pop with bruising, or pain that builds with every run isn't a pain-rule question: see the warning signs.

Sources 43, 45, 54

The exercise plan: 3 stages

Start at the first stage. Each move opens a full guide with a 3D demo.

Stage 1

Keep lunging, change the lunge

About the first 2 weeks, 2 or 3 sessions a week: split squats in a range with no pinch and no hard pull, and starting work for whichever area is sore (the front of the hip, the outer hip or the groin). With a diagnosed condition (hip impingement or a labral tear, a hip flexor or groin strain, gluteal tendinopathy, hip arthritis, a teenager's avulsion, a replaced hip, pelvic girdle pain in pregnancy), that guide's plan comes first; after surgery, your surgical team's plan does.

Split squat demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoSplit squatIntermediate · No equipment

3 sets of 8 each leg, a short range, upright, holding a wall · As in our lunge guides (editorial). Stop above any pinch in the front hip; a stride of about your leg's length

Easier: Bodyweight squat · Harder: Reverse lunge

Glute bridge demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoGlute bridgeBeginner · No equipment

2 to 3 sets of 10 · As in our hip squat guide (editorial); bridging is in the LEAP programme from the first week

Easier: Pelvic tilt into bridge · Harder: Single-leg glute bridge

Supine isometric hip abduction (belt press) demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoSupine isometric hip abduction (belt press)Beginner · A band

3 to 5 holds of 5 to 10 s, twice a day, light · The move page's dose: the LEAP programme's starting hold. For outer hip pain

Harder: Lateral band walk

Side-stepping (sideways walking) demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoSide-stepping (sideways walking)Beginner · A wall

10 steps each way, next to a counter · The move page's dose (the NHS balance exercises); the LEAP programme used sidestepping in its first week. For outer hip pain

Harder: Lateral band walk

Lying adductor ball squeeze demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoLying adductor ball squeezeBeginner · Other / check instructions

5 holds of 5 to 10 s · As in our hip squat guide (editorial). For inner thigh pain, at a pain-free effort

Harder: Copenhagen plank

Standing march demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoStanding marchBeginner · No equipment

10 each side, a low knee · As in our hip flexor guide (editorial). For pain at the front of the hip

Easier: Seated march · Harder: Standing band hip flexion

Move on when: Split squats in your chosen range pass the pain rule with no pinch, and your hip is no worse the next morning, for a week (editorial). With a groin strain, squeezing your knees together is pain-free at a firm effort (our groin strain guide).

Follow along: a timer, a cue and the next move, one step at a time.

Stage 2

Reverse lunges and single-leg strength

About weeks 2 to 6, 2 or 3 sessions a week: the reverse lunge through more of the range, the hip flexors, glutes and adductors loaded on purpose, and single-leg control.

Reverse lunge demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoReverse lungeIntermediate · No equipment

3 sets of 8 each side · As in our hip flexor and lunge guides (editorial). It loaded the hip less than a forward lunge

Easier: Split squat · Harder: Split squat with dumbbells

3D demoStep-upBeginner · A step

3 sets of 8 each side, a low step first · As in our hip squat guide (editorial)

Easier: Low step-up · Harder: Dumbbell step-up

Standing band hip flexion demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoStanding band hip flexionBeginner · A band + An anchor point

3 sets, from 15 down to 8 hard reps over the weeks, 3 times a week · Our hip flexor guide's dose, from a trial's progression from 15 to 8 reps over 6 weeks in healthy adults

Easier: Standing march · Harder: Captain's chair knee raise

Standing wall-press hip abduction demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoStanding wall-press hip abductionBeginner · A wall

3 to 5 holds of 5 to 15 s each side, twice a day · The move page's dose: the LEAP programme's standing hold. Keep the standing hip level

Easier: Supine isometric hip abduction (belt press) · Harder: Lateral band walk

Standing band hip adduction demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoStanding band hip adductionBeginner · A band + An anchor point

3 sets of 10 to 12 each side · As in our groin strain guide (editorial). For inner thigh pain

Easier: Lying adductor ball squeeze · Harder: Copenhagen plank

Hip airplane demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoHip airplaneAdvanced · No equipment

2 sets of 5 slow turns each leg, holding a support · The move page's dose (editorial). With pain at the front of the standing hip, keep to the opening turn, as its page says

Easier: Single-leg stand · Harder: Single-leg Romanian deadlift

Move on when: Reverse lunges to your usual depth pass the pain rule for 3 sets of 8 to 10 with no pinch, and your hip is fine the next morning (editorial).

Follow along: a timer, a cue and the next move, one step at a time.

Stage 3

Back to full lunges: forward, walking, then side and curtsy

From about week 6, often later: forward and walking lunges, then load, then the variations that cross or widen the hip, one change at a time by the written steps below. No study has tested a return to lunges after hip pain, so the order is editorial, following the lab order of hip load (reverse, then forward).

Bodyweight walking lunge demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoBodyweight walking lungeIntermediate · No equipment

2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 steps each leg, stopping with 2 or 3 reps in reserve · The move page's dose (an editorial starting point)

Easier: Bodyweight squat · Harder: Barbell walking lunge

Dumbbell reverse lunge demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoDumbbell reverse lungeIntermediate · A dumbbell

3 sets of 8 to 12 each leg, one dumbbell at your chest first · As in our knee lunge guide (editorial)

Easier: Reverse lunge · Harder: Barbell walking lunge

Rear-foot-elevated split squat (Bulgarian split squat) demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoRear-foot-elevated split squat (Bulgarian split squat)Intermediate · A bench or box

2 to 3 sets of 6 to 10 each leg, last · As in our knee lunge guide (editorial). Lower the back foot if the front hip pinches, as the move page says, or if the back hip pulls (our suggestion)

Easier: Reverse lunge · Harder: Split squat jump

Cossack squat demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoCossack squatIntermediate · No equipment

6 slow shifts per side, hold the last one · The move page's dose. The side-lunge pattern, last: stop short of a pinch at the front of the hip, and leave it out while a groin strain hurts, as the move page says

Easier: Sit squat (partial squat) · Harder: Pistol squat

Copenhagen plank demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoCopenhagen plankAdvanced · A bench or box

Short lever (the top knee on the bench) first: 1 set of 3 to 15 each side, 3 times a week, then once a week · As in our groin pain guides, from the footballers' programme levels. Not during acute groin pain, as the move page says

Easier: Hip adduction machine

Step-up with knee raise demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoStep-up with knee raiseIntermediate · A step

3 sets of 8 each side · As in our hip flexor guide (editorial). Hip flexor strength at the top of the step

Easier: Step-up · Harder: Alternate-leg bounding

Move on when: Your usual lunge sessions pass the pain rule for 2 weeks. If a big session flares it, go back a stage for a few days, not to nothing (editorial).

Follow along: a timer, a cue and the next move, one step at a time.

What to change for now

Your lunge for now (written steps)

Our 3D figure can't show all of these. They come from lab studies of healthy people, the hip trials' programmes and our lunge guides; where a step is our suggestion, it says so. No trial has tested a change to the lunge for hip pain.

1. Split squats and reverse lunges before forward and walking lunges: the reverse lunge loaded the hip less.
2. Depth: lower only to just above any pinch at the front of the front hip, and build depth once that height has been pinch-free for a week (our suggestion, as in our hip squat guide).
3. Stride: about one leg's length, from hip to ankle. With a pull at the front of the back hip, a little shorter and less deep (our suggestion).
4. Trunk upright: a forward lean deepens the front hip's bend. Our knee lunge guide suggests a slight lean for kneecap pain; with both, go by whichever hurts more (editorial).
5. Feet hip-width apart, like railway tracks rather than a tightrope, and the front knee over the middle toes, not crossing in.
6. The back hip: let the back knee drop straight down rather than pushing the back hip forward into a deep stretch (our suggestion; a model loads the front of the hip more in extension).
7. Load: none, or one dumbbell at your chest, before weights at your sides. Added weight raised the work at the hip more than at the knee.
8. Side, curtsy, crossover, deficit and jumping lunges come back last, one at a time (our suggestion).
9. Sport: running, kicking and changing direction come back once full lunges pass the pain rule, as our groin and hip flexor guides stage them.

Sources 1, 2, 5, 33, 18, 4, 3

Back to your usual training (written steps)

No study has tested how lunges come back after hip pain, so these steps are our suggestion unless a source is named.

1. One change at a time: depth, then direction (reverse, forward, walking), then load, then variations (Bulgarian, side, curtsy), then speed and jumps.
2. Add load in small steps after a session that passed the pain rule, and keep two hip strength sessions a week for a few months after the pain has gone.
3. With a groin strain or in kicking sports, keep the Copenhagen adduction going once a week through the season, as the footballers' programme did.
4. If it flares after a big session, go back a stage for a few days, not to nothing.

Source 39

Arthritis, a replaced hip, pregnancy

With hip arthritis, Arthritis UK's hip exercises use supported squats no deeper than a right angle and no lunges, so lunges are optional, in a short range that passes the pain rule (our lunge page says deep lunges often aggravate an arthritic hip).

With a replaced hip, follow your team's precautions: the NHS lists not bending past 90 degrees, not crossing your legs, and no jumping, sudden turns or high fall risk while you recover. After a replacement done from the front, ask before deep lunges that push the back hip into extension and turn it out, the position of one reported dislocation. In pregnancy with pelvic girdle pain, leave out lunges and wide stances (our pelvic girdle pain guide).

Sources 48, 49, 51

Positions to swap, and why

Habit or position	Why it matters	Instead
Forward and walking lunges while it's sore	The forward lunge loaded the hip more than the reverse lunge.	Reverse lunges.Try: Reverse lunge
Deep lunges into a pinch in the front hip	The pinch is where the hip runs out of bend, and deep bending is what a UK trial's physiotherapy programme advised reducing.	Depth just above the pinch.Try: Split squat
Leaning far forward	It deepened the front hip's bend in a lab study.	Trunk upright.Try: Split squat
A very long stride with the back hip pushed through	A longer step loaded the hip more, and a model loads the front of the hip more in extension.	A stride of about one leg's length.Try: Reverse lunge
Curtsy and crossover lunges with outer hip pain	The thigh crossing in squeezes the gluteal tendons.	Sidestepping and standing hip holds.Try: Side-stepping (sideways walking)
Deep side lunges and Cossack squats with inner thigh pain	Our groin guides leave them out early, and the move page says so too.	The adductor ball squeeze.Try: Lying adductor ball squeeze
Feet in one line, like a tightrope	More side-to-side sway with the same muscle work.	Feet hip-width, like railway tracks.Try: Split squat
Hard lunge stretches for a sore hip flexor	Strength training improves range as much as stretching, and our hip flexor guide loads before it stretches.	Band hip flexion.Try: Standing band hip flexion
Bulgarian split squats early on	A raised back foot stretches the back hip further (our reading), and the move page says lower it if the front hip pinches.	Split squats.Try: Split squat
Lunge challenges and high-rep classes	Muscle breakdown can follow big, unusual sessions: see the warning signs.	Stop 2 or 3 reps short, with rest days.Try: Reverse lunge
Resting completely	Exercise-based treatment is recommended for hip-related pain, and the NHS says keep moving if you can.	The stage 1 moves.Try: Glute bridge

Routines to follow

Learn to lunge: split squat to walking lunge

A 25-minute session from the split squat to the walking lunge: ankle and balance prep, slow split squats, reverse lunges, then walking lunges.

25 minBeginner11 movesA wall, A bench or box

Glute workout at home

A 25-minute glute workout with bodyweight and a mini band: bridges, clamshells, band walks, kickbacks and lunges.

25 minBeginner9 movesA wall, A band

Hamstring and groin injury prevention

The Nordic hamstring and Copenhagen adduction programmes from the football trials: a 10-week build, three adductor levels, then once a week in season.

15 minIntermediate6 movesA wall, An anchor point

Tight hip flexors routine: stretch, then strengthen

Hips that feel tight: a tucked hip flexor stretch, then band knee drives, leg raises, dead bugs, bridges and lunges. Strength through range loosens hips too.

15 minBeginner8 movesA band, An anchor point

Dumbbell leg workout B: single-leg and hinge

Dumbbell leg workout B: Bulgarian split squats, single-leg Romanian deadlifts, slider curls, single-leg bridges, calf raises and suitcase carries.

45 minIntermediate12 movesA bench or box, A dumbbell

More moves for this area

Questions people ask

Why does my hip hurt when I do lunges?

It depends on which leg and where. A deep pinch in the groin of the front leg is usually the hip joint running out of bend, and a pull at the front of the back hip is usually the hip flexors being stretched. The outside of the hip points to the gluteal tendons, and the inner thigh to the adductors.

Can lunges cause hip pain?

They can bring it on when the depth, stride or volume gets ahead of what your hip is used to, but no study shows lunges harm healthy hips. They work the hip hard: a forward lunge is mainly a hip-extensor exercise.

Why do I feel a pinch at the front of my hip when I lunge?

At the bottom, the front hip bends to about 93 to 101 degrees, and some hips run out of bend there. Stop just above the pinch, stay upright and build depth slowly. Catching, locking or a hip that gives way needs checking.

Why does the front of my back hip hurt in a lunge?

The back hip is stretched towards and past straight, so the hip flexors on that side are pulled long under load. Shorten your step a little, go less deep and strengthen the hip flexors. A pop with bruising, a dent or real weakness needs checking within days.

Why does the outside of my hip hurt with lunges?

Usually the gluteal tendons, which dislike the thigh crossing in, as in curtsy and crossover lunges. Keep your knee over your toes, leave crossing lunges out for now, and use the outer hip holds. Education and exercise worked better than an injection at a year in a trial.

Why does my groin hurt in side lunges?

Usually the adductors on the inside of the thigh, the commonest groin strain in sport. Narrow the side lunge or leave it out until squeezing your knees together is pain-free; in male athletes, adductor strains were pain-free in a median of about 2 weeks.

Are reverse lunges better for hip pain?

Usually, yes: the reverse lunge loaded the hip less than the forward lunge in a lab study. Start with split squats and reverse lunges, then build to forward and walking lunges.

Should I stretch my hip flexors if they hurt in lunges?

Not hard at first: strengthen them, and add gentle stretching once loading is comfortable. Strength training improved range about as much as stretching.

Can I do lunges with hip arthritis or hip impingement?

Usually, in a range that passes the pain rule and stops short of the pinch. Exercise is the first treatment for both, for at least 3 months with impingement, and deep lunges are optional.

Can I do lunges after a hip replacement?

Follow your team's precautions and ask before deep lunges. After a replacement done from the front, a lunge-shaped yoga pose that pushed the back hip into extension and turned it out dislocated one woman's hip at 16 months. A leg that suddenly looks shorter or turned needs A&E.

Do I need a scan?

Not at first: shape changes and labral tears are common on scans of painless hips. A teenager's pop at the front of the hip, groin pain that builds with running, or a fall needs one.

When should I see a doctor?

Call 999 for severe hip pain after a fall or a leg you can't put weight on; get an urgent GP appointment or call NHS 111 for a hot, swollen hip with a high temperature; and get a child or teenager with hip, thigh or knee pain or a limp checked the same day. See a GP if it isn't better after 2 weeks or stops you doing normal things. In the US, call 911 where this page says 999.

Hip pain when doing lunges: the front of the hip, the joint, the outer hip, the groin and stride

When to get help first

Get urgent medical help if

See a doctor or physiotherapist if

Where does it hurt?

Understand it

What a lunge asks of the hip: two hips, two jobsEmerging evidence

The front of the hip: impingement, the labrum and the back legEmerging evidence

The groin, the hip flexors and the outer hipEmerging evidence

Which hip pain needs checking quicklyStrong evidence

Scans, and how it usually goesStrong evidence

What helps, and how strong the evidence is

Direction, stride, lean and stance change the hip's loadEmerging evidence

Hip-related pain: exercise first, and surgery is only a little betterEmerging evidence

Groin and hip flexor strains settle, and active training beats restEmerging evidence

Outer hip pain: education and exercise beat an injectionStrong evidence

Hip arthritis and a replaced hipMixed evidence

How much pain is OK while you exercise?

Up to about 5 out of 10, settled by the next morning, and stop above a pinchEmerging evidence

The exercise plan: 3 stages

Keep lunging, change the lunge

Reverse lunges and single-leg strength

Back to full lunges: forward, walking, then side and curtsy

What to change for now

Your lunge for now (written steps)

Back to your usual training (written steps)

Arthritis, a replaced hip, pregnancy

Positions to swap, and why

Routines to follow

Learn to lunge: split squat to walking lunge

Glute workout at home

Hamstring and groin injury prevention

Tight hip flexors routine: stretch, then strengthen

Dumbbell leg workout B: single-leg and hinge

More moves for this area

Questions people ask

Related exercise guides

Other pain guides

Sources