Your hip has started to pinch at the bottom of a squat, ache in the groin after a run or feel stiff when you lift your knee to tie your shoes. When you are used to training regularly, it can be hard to know what to keep and what to leave out. Swapping the movements that hurt for ones that do not can keep you active while it settles.

Why the hip can get sore with training

Hip pain in active people often appears after a change in training. More running, deeper squats, a new class with lots of high knees or kicks, or simply more sessions in a week can all add up. The front of the hip and the groin often feel it most, especially in positions where the hip is bent up deeply.

In most cases, the hip is irritated rather than damaged. It needs a little time with less load in the positions that bother it, while you keep everything else going.

Which movements tend to bother it

A sore hip often dislikes movements where your knee comes up towards your chest, especially under load or at speed. Common ones include:

• Deep squats and the bottom of a lunge.
• Sitting low, like on a sofa or in a low car seat.
• High knees, kicks and sprinting.
• Twisting on a bent hip, like turning sharply in sport.

Noticing which movements bring on your pain helps you know what to change.

Swapping painful exercises for comfortable ones

You can usually keep training while avoiding the positions that bother your hip. Some swaps to try:

• Squat to a box or bench set at a comfortable height, rather than going deep.
• Swap lunges for step-ups onto a low step.
• Try bridges in place of deadlifts or heavy hip hinges for a while.
• Swap running for cycling with the saddle a little higher, or swimming with a gentle kick.

If you would like to follow along, VIDA has short videos of sit to stands and bridges you can use at your own pace.

The aim is to keep your muscles working and your fitness going, without repeatedly stirring up the sore area.

Keeping the hip moving

Gentle movement helps a sore hip settle more than keeping it still. Something to try once or twice a day, holding onto something steady:

• Leg swings forwards and backwards, within a comfortable range.
• Slow hip circles in each direction.
• Lying on your back on the floor, slowly sliding one heel towards your bottom and back out.

If you would like a guided stretch, VIDA has short videos you can follow at your own pace.

Strength that suits a sore hip

Strengthening the muscles around your hip helps it cope with more as you return. Something to try two or three times a week:

• Bridges. Lie on your back with your knees bent, lift your hips, then lower slowly.
• Side-lying leg lifts. Lie on your side and slowly lift your top leg a little way, then lower.

Keep these in a comfortable range. A mild ache that settles by the next day is usually fine.

Returning step by step

When everyday movements feel comfortable and your hip is no longer sore the morning after training, you could start bringing back what you left out. Something like this tends to work well:

• Start with the movement at a shallower depth or lighter weight.
• Add one movement back at a time, a few days apart.
• Bring back running with shorter, flatter runs before longer or faster ones.
• Leave sprinting, kicking and sharp turns until last.

If your hip is sore the following morning, go back a step for a few days before trying again.

Keeping track

Your VIDA pain check-in is a good way to track how your hip responds as you bring movements back in. Noticing which changes help makes it easier to plan your next few weeks.

What to take away

• Notice which movements bring on your hip pain.
• Squat to a box and swap lunges for step-ups for now.
• Keep your hip moving gently every day.
• Strengthen your hip two or three times a week in a comfortable range.
• Bring movements back one at a time, leaving sprinting and kicking until last.

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