Hip Bursitis: Symptom vs. Cause
Hip bursitis can be a real pain, in more ways than one. Our approach focuses on improving joint motion while addressing the muscle tightness underneath it — a recipe for a long-term solution that doesn't rely on medication or another injection.
A Familiar Story
Patients often come to us with buttock pain that's already been diagnosed as hip bursitis, after seeing multiple providers, trying injections, medication, and exercises, without lasting relief.
Symptom, Not Cause
We tend to treat bursitis as a secondary symptom rather than the actual problem. Very often, the pain is misdiagnosed altogether — it isn't bursitis at all, but damage to the tendon of one of the gluteus muscles. The underlying cause is usually stiffness in the lumbar facet joints and sacroiliac joints, which leads to tight gluteus medius and piriformis muscles. That dysfunction, repeated over thousands of steps while walking, running, or even sitting, can injure the gluteus tendon and irritate the trochanteric bursa sitting next to it.
Our Approach
Injections and medication can offer temporary relief, and we use that window to apply manual therapy, adjustments, and targeted exercise aimed at the actual dysfunction underneath — which is what keeps the pain from coming back.
If you're dealing with hip pain that hasn't responded to previous treatment, we'd like to take a look.