Your hip or buttock has been aching for a while, and longer walks have started to feel like something you plan around. That can be frustrating, especially if walking is how you clear your head or get around. Long-term hip and glute pain usually responds well to a steady plan, and walking can stay a big part of it.

Why walking still helps

Pain that has been around for a while does not usually mean your hip is being damaged. Tendons, muscles and joints around the hip adapt slowly, often over months, and they tend to do better with regular, gradual loading than with rest. Walking is one of the simplest ways to give your hip that steady load.

It can also help with how sensitive the area feels. Regular movement often makes pain feel less loud over time, even before your strength has fully built up.

How strength plays a part

The muscles around your hip and buttock steady your pelvis with every step. When they are stronger, they share the load and the tendons on the side of your hip often feel easier. Research on long-term pain on the outside of the hip has found that a programme of exercise and advice helped people more than a wait-and-see approach.

Something to try two or three times a week:

• Bridges. Lie on your back with your knees bent, lift your hips, then lower slowly. Progress to single-leg bridges.
• Sit to stand. Rise from a chair without using your hands, then lower slowly. Progress to a lower chair or holding a weight.
• Side-lying leg lifts. Lie on your side and slowly lift your top leg a little way, then lower.
• Step-ups. Step up onto a low step, keeping your pelvis level, then step down slowly.

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

Some discomfort during these is normal, as long as it settles by the next day.

Pace and stride length

Small changes to how you walk can ease the load:

• Take slightly shorter, quicker steps, rather than long strides.
• Walk at a steady pace you could keep up while chatting.
• Notice whether your hip feels better on flat ground and save hills for later in your plan.
• Walking poles can take some load off your hips on longer or hillier walks.

A gradual plan over months

Building your distance tends to work best when it is slow and steady. Something like this:

• Find a distance you can walk comfortably most days, even if it is shorter than you would like.
• Add a few minutes every week or two, as long as your hip settles by the next morning.
• Once your distance feels steady, bring back gentle hills, then longer walks.
• Expect some ups and downs. A sore day after a long walk does not mean you are back to the start.

The next-morning check is a useful guide. If your hip is stiffer or sorer than usual the next morning, hold your distance for a little longer before adding more.

Mixing in other activity

On days when your hip needs a lighter load, cycling or swimming can keep you active without the same impact. Some people find that mixing these in lets them build walking distance more steadily over the weeks.

Everyday habits that can help

If the side of your hip is sore, avoiding crossing your legs, standing evenly on both feet and sleeping with a pillow between your knees can ease pressure on the tendons. If sitting for long spells bothers your buttock, short movement breaks help. VIDA’s Pomodoro stretches, in the top right corner, can remind you to get up.

Footwear and surfaces

Cushioned, supportive shoes can soften each step. Park paths and even trails can feel kinder than hard pavements, and avoiding the slanted edge of a road helps load both hips evenly.

Tracking progress

Long-term pain often improves in small steps that are easy to miss. Your VIDA pain check-in is a good way to notice how your hip is changing over weeks and months.

What to take away

• Walking still helps long-term hip and glute pain.
• Hip and buttock strength helps share the load with each step.
• Shorter, quicker steps can ease the load on your hip.
• Build distance gradually over months, using the next-morning check.
• Expect some ups and downs along the way.

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