Services · Hip, pelvis & ergonomics
Hip, pelvis and ergonomics
The short answer
Groin, buttock and lateral hip pain, sacroiliac problems, and the pelvic complaints that follow pregnancy or long hours in a seat. If an approach is not helping, we will say so and change it or refer you on, rather than keep booking you in.
Why the hip and pelvis are harder to assess
Two reasons, and neither of them is exciting. The area carries load with every step, so it is difficult to unload the way you can rest an arm. Referred pain from the lumbar spine mimics hip pain closely, so the diagnosis takes longer to be confident about.
Where the problem is arthritic, we will say so, and the honest plan is loading, weight management where relevant, and a conversation with your GP, not an open-ended course of treatment here.
Where ergonomics belongs
A great deal of hip and pelvic pain is a seating problem wearing a disguise: a car seat two hours a day, a van, a chair set for someone else, a saddle. Treating the tissue without changing the seat is how a problem becomes a subscription.
We do workplace and vehicle assessments on site or by video. Employers frequently fund them.
How many visits will I need?
We give the number of visits at the start. Not at the end, and not one visit at a time. Where we can't estimate it honestly, and sometimes we can't, we say that instead of picking a figure.
When this is not a job for an osteopath
Please book with a GP, or go to an emergency department, rather than with us, if any of the following apply:
- Hip pain following a fall, particularly in an older adult or anyone with osteoporosis.
- Inability to weight-bear, or a leg that appears shortened or turned outward.
- Groin pain with fever, or with recent illness or infection.
- Night pain unrelated to position, with unexplained weight loss.
- Progressive numbness or weakness in the leg, or any change in bladder or bowel control.
If any of these apply, see a GP or go to an emergency department first. The symptom check asks about the most serious warning signs, but it does not cover everything.
Exercises we commonly prescribe for this
Pulled from the library. Which of these you get, at what dose and in what order depends on your assessment, this is what the shortlist usually looks like, not a plan for you.
Common questions
Is it my hip or my back?
A genuinely common question and not always obvious. True hip joint pain is usually felt in the groin and worse on rotation; buttock pain is more often referred from the lumbar spine or the sacroiliac joint. The examination sorts it, and getting it right changes the whole plan.
Can you fix hip arthritis?
No. What we work on is how it moves, how much it hurts, how far you can walk, and keeping you strong. Anyone claiming to reverse joint change is not being straight with you.
Is this from my pregnancy?
Pelvic girdle pain in and after pregnancy is common, and we manage it with a combination of hands-on work and specific loading. It is worth seeing someone rather than waiting it out, particularly if it is affecting sleep or walking.
Will you look at my work setup?
Yes, either from photographs and a video call, or on site.