6 Everyday Positions That May Be Making Your Hip Pain Worse
Did you know that some of the positions we find ourselves in throughout the day may actually be contributing to hip pain?
We often think of hip pain as something caused by exercise, injury, or overuse. However, our everyday habits—how we sit, stand, sleep, and stretch—can also influence how much discomfort we experience.
Certain positions place additional compression or strain on the structures surrounding the hip joint, particularly the tendons and soft tissues along the outside of the hip.
Here are six common positions worth paying attention to:
1. Crossing Your Legs
Crossing one leg over the other places the hip into adduction (moving the leg toward or across the body's midline). This can increase compression over the tendons on the outside of the hip, potentially aggravating symptoms in people with greater trochanteric pain syndrome (GTPS) or gluteal tendinopathy.
Try instead: Sit with both feet supported on the floor and your knees comfortably apart.
2. Standing With Your Weight Shifted Onto One Hip
We've all done it—standing with most of our weight resting on one leg while the opposite hip drops outward.
Although it may feel comfortable, this posture can increase compressive loading on the tissues surrounding the weight-bearing hip.
Try instead: Distribute your weight more evenly between both legs, particularly when standing for extended periods.
3. Sitting With Your Hips Lower Than Your Knees
Low chairs and deep couches place the hips into greater flexion. For individuals with certain hip conditions, including femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) or hip osteoarthritis, this position may increase discomfort.
Try instead: Choose a chair that allows your hips to remain approximately level with or slightly higher than your knees.
4. Sleeping on Your Side With Your Knees Together
Side sleeping can aggravate lateral hip pain in two ways: direct pressure on the hip you're lying on and increased hip adduction in the upper leg.
Try instead: Place a pillow between your knees and, ideally, your ankles to keep your hips in a more neutral position.
5. Stretching Into Hip Adduction
Stretching isn't always the solution to hip pain!
Exercises that pull your leg across your body can increase compression of the gluteal tendons against the greater trochanter. For individuals with gluteal tendinopathy, repeatedly stretching into this position may worsen symptoms rather than relieve them.
Try instead: Focus on comfortable mobility and progressive strengthening rather than forcing stretches that reproduce your pain.
6. Deep Squatting
Deep squatting requires substantial hip flexion. For some individuals, particularly those with hip impingement, labral pathology, or symptomatic hip osteoarthritis, this position can reproduce pain.
Try instead: Modify your squat depth, adjust your stance, or use a supported squat that allows you to move comfortably.
The Takeaway
Sometimes managing hip pain isn't about doing more—it's about changing how we position and load our hips throughout the day.
Small adjustments to your sitting, standing, sleeping, and exercise habits may help reduce irritation and make daily activities more comfortable.
However, not every position is problematic for everyone. The underlying cause of hip pain matters. For example, avoiding sustained hip adduction is particularly relevant to lateral hip pain and gluteal tendinopathy, while modifying deep hip flexion may be more helpful for certain types of groin or intra-articular hip pain.
The goal isn't to avoid these movements forever. It's to identify what aggravates your symptoms, temporarily modify those activities, and gradually rebuild strength and tolerance.
Your hips are designed to move. The key is finding the movements and positions that work best for your body.
Educational information only. Persistent or worsening hip pain should be evaluated by a qualified healthcare professional.