Can yoga reduce hip pain?

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person holding hip in pain

Hip pain can reduce your quality of life, affecting mobility and ability to do daily activities. While yoga has emerged as a popular pain management strategy, can it help reduce hip pain? This post explores the potential benefits and considerations of using yoga to manage hip pain—and whether doing so might work for you.

Yoga practices have demonstrated potential benefits for those with various musculoskeletal conditions, including hip pain. According to the American Hip Institute and Orthopedic Specialists, “Yoga is a great low-impact workout that can help build both strength and stability in your hip muscles.” Gentle stretching poses can increase hip joint flexibility and decrease muscle tension; strengthening exercises, particularly for the core muscles, can improve joint stability, helping to reduce pain. Additionally, yoga’s emphasis on mindfulness and breathing techniques can decrease stress and promote pain management and tolerance.

Benefits of Yoga for the Hips

  • Stretches and strengthens muscles in the leg, hips, and back, which can improve flexibility and range of motion, take pressure off the hip joint, and reduce pain.

  • Strengthens core to help support the spine and hips, which helps stabilize the hips. 

  • Improves balance and stability, which can reduce strain on the hip joints and help prevent future injuries.

  • Develops mind-body connection, which can help manage pain and improve overall well-being.

Considerations and Contraindications of Yoga for the Hips

  • Can worsen pain if done incorrectly because some poses can increase strain on and inflammation of the hip joint and muscles around it.

  • Not suitable for all types of hip pain. Discuss your medical situation with your doctor, especially if you have any of the following conditions:

    • Acute, sharp pain

    • Unexplained or undiagnosed pain 

    • Recent surgery or injury

    • Increased pain during poses

    • Balance and coordination limitations

    • Pregnancy

yoga props including a bolster and block

 Types of Yoga for Hip Pain

  • Gentle yoga: This is a good option for beginners that focuses on gentle yoga poses that stretch and relax the body.

  • Restorative yoga: This type of yoga incorporates props such as bolsters and blocks to support the body in relaxing poses. Using props and relaxing body tension can help reduce pain.

  • Iyengar or therapeutic yoga: These forms of yoga also incorporate props and focus on body alignment and function. Improving body alignment and functional movements can help reduce joint strain, increase balance, and make day-to-day activities easier.

If you have hip pain and want to start doing yoga, here are some tips and things to consider:

  • Start gradually: Beginners, or those with significant pain, should commence with gentle stretches and simple poses and only work within a pain-free range, even if it is small.

  • Individualized approach: Each body (and pain experience) is unique. Modifications and adaptations are not only helpful for reducing pain but necessary to supporting individual needs. Don’t look at these variations as weaknesses but tools for a safe and effective practice.

  • Qualified guidance: Follow the instruction of qualified therapists or teachers who can help modify poses for an individual’s needs.

I’m hesitant to provide examples of yoga poses here, because any pain requires working with individualized needs and conditions. Poses that help one person may increase pain in someone else (for example, Butterfly Pose or Baddha Konasana—you can read more about when not to do this pose in my post about it). However, the areas that a teacher might want to work on, and examples of poses that work those areas, include the following:

  • Hip flexors: Low Lunge (Anjanasana) or Warrior I (Virabadrasana I)

  • Outer hips: Butterfly Pose (Baddha Konasana) or Tree Pose (Vrksasana)

  • Hip mobility: Cat-Cow Pose (Bitilasana Marjaryasana)

  • Hip stability: Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana)

Note that stretching and strengthening of the legs, back, and core muscles can also affect the hips and therefore can also play a vital role in managing hip pain. So, finding the appropriate teacher and poses for you are important in trying to alleviate pain. The more information you have regarding your diagnosis, condition, or treatment plan from a healthcare professional will help you and your instructor more effectively find pain management solutions through yoga.