Hip Pain During Squats: Causes and Solutions

By: Dr. Molly Barb, PT, DPT

Do you have pain in the front of your hip when you squat? Or it feels like you can’t get low enough in the squat without your hip pinching? It may be hip impingement and these small modifications could help.

Let’s take a step back and explain hip impingement first. Your hip is a ball and socket joint made of your thigh bone (femur) and your hip bone (pelvis). This joint is meant to move smoothly in its socket, however some people have more bone growth on the femur (cam deformity) or more bone on the pelvis (pincer deformity) that limits motion. When this happens, it is common to have a pinching sensation in the front of your hip during activities like sitting, bringing your knee to your chest, or squatting.

So if this sounds like you – try these squat modifications.

Number 1: use a wider stance and flare out your feet so that your toes point outwards. Both of these will open up your hip joint and give the ball and socket more space to move.

Number 3: Place a resistance band above your knees while you squat. Throughout the entire motion of the squat, push your knees out against the band. This allows your glutes to activate and pull your hip joint away from the impingement.

Keep in mind, there are multiple reasons for hip pain other than hip impingement. If these modifications don’t work, contact our physical therapists for a full evaluation so that you can get back to squatting with no pain!

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