{"id":783740,"date":"2026-05-09T07:03:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T07:03:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/783740\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T07:03:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T07:03:22","slug":"do-you-have-sore-hips-i-asked-a-pain-specialist-why-this-happens-and-how-to-improve-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/783740\/","title":{"rendered":"Do you have sore hips? I asked a pain specialist why this happens and how to improve it"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hip soreness is a terribly common issue\u2014it\u2019s something that I certainly suffer with\u2014so I\u2019m always trying to get to the bottom of where this soreness originates from and what you can do about it.<\/p>\n

According to Dr Shady Hassan<\/a>, MD, an interventional pain and sports medicine physician and the founder of NefraHealth<\/a>, immobility is the root cause of this discomfort.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMost immobility comes from two extremes: sustained stillness and repetitive overuse,\u201d Hassan tells Fit&Well.<\/p>\n

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\u201cFor the average professional [desk worker], sitting for eight to 10 hours a day keeps the hip flexors in a shortened state. This is essentially a sitting penalty\u2014the physical cost of a sedentary lifestyle.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a sports medicine specialist, Hassan sees the other extreme too, athletes with hip pain stemming from overuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cSoreness often stems from repetitive loading without adequate recovery, leading to micro-trauma in the labrum<\/a> or surrounding tendons,\u201d says Hassan.<\/p>\n

Additionally, \u201cwhen the muscles around the joint\u2014like the psoas <\/a>or glutes<\/a>\u2014become imbalanced, the brain locks down the joint to protect it, which we perceive as tightness.\u201d<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s not worth putting up with sore hips, because Hassan has seen how it can have a knock-on effect in other areas of the body.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf your hips don\u2019t move, your body will find that movement elsewhere,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

He explains that the nearest joints\u2014the lumbar spine and knees\u2014are often the ones that take the strain.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen the hips are locked, the lower back is forced to over-rotate or over-extend to compensate,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThink of it like a rusty hinge on a door: if the hinge won\u2019t move, the doorframe eventually starts to warp and crack under the pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStiff hips are a leading cause of disc herniations and facet joint pain<\/a> because the spine is doing work it wasn\u2019t designed to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Hassan is a specialist in injury prevention and offered a starting point for keeping your hips in good working order.<\/p>\n

How to improve your hip mobility <\/p>\n

Hassan says that the best way to prevent hip soreness is to consistently strengthen and stretch your hips in all the ways they can move.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to train the hip in all three planes of motion,\u201d he says. That means moving forward and backward (through the sagittal plane), side to side (the frontal plane) and rotating them (the transverse plane).<\/p>\n

\u201cStrengthening the gluteus medius<\/a> is also non-negotiable\u2014a stable pelvis protects the hip joint from unnecessary shearing forces<\/a>,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

Hassan suggests the following three exercises if you are experiencing limited hip mobility.<\/p>\n

1. 90\/90 stretch<\/p>\n

How to do a 90\/90 Hip Stretch properly – CORRECT FORM IS ESSENTIAL – YouTube
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Time:<\/strong> 30-60sec each side<\/p>\n

Why Hassan recommends it: <\/strong>\u201cThis is the gold standard for addressing both internal and external rotation simultaneously.\u201d<\/p>\n

How to do it: <\/strong><\/p>\n