That Nagging Outer Hip Pain? It Might Be More Than Just “Runner’s Hip”

You lace up, head out the door, and somewhere around mile two, that familiar ache starts creeping in along the outside of your hip. Maybe it’s been building for a few weeks. Maybe you’ve been quietly hoping it would sort itself out if you just stretched a little more, foam rolled a little harder, or willed it away through sheer stubbornness.

Sound familiar? You’re in good company, and also, we need to talk.

That pain on the outer side of your hip has a name: Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome. It’s a mouthful, so let’s just call it what it is: a very common, very frustrating cause of lateral hip pain in runners. And it’s also one of the most misunderstood.

For a long time, it was simply labeled “trochanteric bursitis” and treated as a straightforward inflammation problem, like the hip was just having a bad week. We now know it’s actually a broader condition involving the tendons of your hip stabilizer muscles, particularly the gluteus medius and minimus, along with the iliotibial band, all converging around a bony landmark on the outer hip called the greater trochanter.

Think of it like the hip’s version of a rotator cuff problem: the same kind of overuse, the same gradual wear on tendon tissue, and the same tendency to be dismissed as nothing until it becomes seriously limiting.

Why Runners Are Especially Vulnerable

Running is a repetitive, single-leg loading sport. Every single stride demands that your hip stabilizers, especially your glutes, work hard to keep your pelvis level and your mechanics clean.

When those muscles are fatigued, tight, or functionally weak, the surrounding tendons and bursa (small fluid-filled cushioning sacs that are genuinely just trying their best) absorb more stress than they are built to handle. Over time, that repetitive overload leads to tendon irritation, micro-damage, and the kind of pain that makes you slightly dread your morning run.

The pain pattern is pretty recognizable once you know what to look for. It usually settles right over that bony bump on the outside of your hip, worsening with prolonged walking, running uphill, lying on the affected side at night, or sitting with your legs crossed.

Some runners also notice a clicking or snapping sensation, which can indicate the IT band flicking over the greater trochanter. This is called snapping hip syndrome, and while it sounds dramatic, it’s actually quite manageable with the right approach.

Research following a marathon runner with exactly this presentation found that addressing the underlying joint dysfunction alongside myofascial release and targeted exercise led to complete resolution of both the pain and the snapping.

What You Can Do at Home Right Now

While professional care is the key to a full and lasting recovery, here are some genuinely useful things you can start doing today. Not filler advice. Actual things that help.

• Side-lying hip abduction: Lie on your unaffected side, keep your top leg straight, and slowly raise it to about 30 to 45 degrees. Lower with control. Aim for 3 sets of 15 reps. This directly targets gluteus medius strength without overloading the irritated area.

  
  

• Clamshells with a resistance band: Light band around your thighs, lying on your side with knees bent, slowly open and close your knees like a clamshell. Slow and controlled is the whole point here. Rushing through these basically cancels out the benefit, so take your time.

  
  

• Standing IT band stretch: Cross your affected leg behind the other, lean gently away from the painful side, and hold for 30 to 45 seconds. This helps reduce compression on the lateral hip structures. Do it after your run when you’re warmed up, not cold.

  
  

• Avoid cross-legged sitting and hip adduction postures: Crossing your affected leg over the other, or sitting in a deep slouch with knees falling inward, compresses the tendons and bursa directly. This one small habit change can make a surprising difference day to day.

  
  

• Temporarily modify your running: Reduce mileage, avoid hills, and stick to flat surfaces. Cambered roads, the kind that slope toward the curb, create a consistent lateral tilt through the pelvis that significantly increases stress on the outer hip. Even a short break from those variables gives the tissue a real chance to calm down.

How Chiropractic Care Fits Into the Picture

Here’s where things get genuinely interesting for runners. Hip pain doesn’t always originate from the hip itself. The way your pelvis moves, how well your sacroiliac joints are functioning, and whether you have adequate hip extension in your stride all directly affect how much load lands on the lateral hip with every step you take.

Restricted hip extension is a big one. When your hip can’t fully extend behind you during the push-off phase of running, your body compensates by working the hip abductors and IT band harder to keep you moving forward.

Do that a few thousand times per run, and you’ve got a recipe for exactly the kind of overload that causes lateral hip pain. Research published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics found that chiropractic treatment significantly improved hip extension ability in young runners compared to a control group, with results suggesting that restoring proper joint mobility can positively influence stride mechanics.

A separate clinical pilot trial demonstrated that patients receiving chiropractic care reported a clinically significant reduction in hip pain compared to those who received no additional treatment. And that marathon runner with the snapping hip? Complete resolution after chiropractic manipulation, myofascial release, and corrective exercise. No injections, no surgery, just thorough and targeted conservative care.

At our clinic, we don’t just treat where it hurts. We look at how your entire lower body is moving, identify the joint restrictions and muscle imbalances that are setting you up for repeated injury, and build a plan that combines hands-on manual therapy with the right rehabilitation work to get you back running with better mechanics, not just less pain in the short term.

Running season is here and your hip has been politely (and not so politely) asking for attention. Let’s actually give it some.

We have clinic locations in Beaverton and Hillsboro. Ready to stop guessing and start running pain-free? Book your assessment with us here: https://alc.schedulista.com

Reference:

Sandell, J., Palmgren, P. J., & Björk, L. (2008). Effect of chiropractic treatment on hip extension ability and running velocity among young male running athletes. Journal of Chiropractic Medicine, 7(2), 39–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcme.2008.02.003

Konczak, C. R., & Ames, R. (2005). Relief of internal snapping hip syndrome in a marathon runner after chiropractic treatment. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 28(1), e1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmpt.2004.12.001

Pumarejo Gomez, L., Li, D., & Childress, J. M. (2024). Greater trochanteric pain syndrome (greater trochanteric bursitis). In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557433/​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​