Hip bursitis causes pain on the side of the hip, which makes it uncomfortable to lay on the affected side. Bursitis is inflammation of a ‘bursa’, which is a small sac of fluid. The function of a bursa is to protect other tissues from compression and friction, but too much stress, or a direct blow to a bursa can cause it to become inflammed. The medical term for the hip bursa is the ‘Trochanteric Bursa’, so called because it is located over the ‘Greater Trochanter’ of the thigh bone (the bony lump on the top of the outside of the thigh bone).

A person suffering from Hip Bursitis will have hip pain over the area of the bursa, but in severe cases this pain may radiate down the leg. The pain will usually be brought on by hip movements such as walking, running, and climbing stairs.

Treatment for hip bursitis aims to settle the inflammation down. Osteopathic intervention will include ice, electrotherapy and stretching of the ilio-tibial band, and may be successful in curing the condition. However, in a number of cases of hip bursitis, particularly long-term cases, a cortico-steroid injection may be required.