Exercises for trochanteric pain

This is an odd but effective exercise for trochanteric bursitis. The purpose of the exercise is to stretch the tissues over the outside of the hip and make them rub back and forth over the bony prominence. You should ‘feel’ the exercise if it is working, but should not do it to the extent that you cause yourself a lot of pain. You may feel the tissues flicking or snapping over the outside of the hip.

Stand on a flat surface next to a wall with your bad leg facing away from the wall. Steady yourself against the wall on your good side.

Lift your good leg off the ground bending at the knee and tip your pelvis down on the good side to stretch out the bad side. Picture 2 – front view

Bend your bad knee just a little – Picture 3

All of your weight is on your bad leg and you should feel some stretching of the tissue over the outside of the hip. You can vary how much stretch there is depending on how sore it is.

Now gently push your pelvis all the way forward, then gently rock it all the way backward pushing your bottom out. You should feel the tight tissues rubbing over the bony prominence on the outside of your hip. Pictures 4 and 5. You should rock back and forth about once per second as a smooth continuous movement.

Aim for 3 sets of 10 exercises morning and evening, but be guided by your discomfort. It is normal to ‘feel’ the exercise, but it should not be really painful. If it is not to bad you can do more repetitions. If it is very uncomfortable you should do fewer repetitions.