Hip pain gets waved off more than almost any other joint complaint. It’s easy to blame a long day at a desk, a hard workout, or “just getting older.” Sometimes that’s right. But hip pain that’s stuck around for weeks, changed how you walk, or started showing up in your groin instead of the side of your hip is worth a proper look.
Where the Pain Actually Is Matters
Hip pain isn’t one thing — where you feel it points toward what’s going on.
- Groin pain usually points to the hip joint itself — commonly osteoarthritis, labral tears, or early hip impingement.
- Outer hip pain, especially when lying on that side at night, is often greater trochanteric pain syndrome (hip bursitis) or a tendon issue, not the joint.
- Buttock pain can come from the hip, but is just as often referred from the lower back or the sacroiliac joint — which is why hip and back pain get confused for each other so often.
If you can’t tell which of these describes you, that’s useful information for a specialist, not a reason to guess.
Common Causes
- Osteoarthritis — cartilage wear in the hip joint, more common with age, prior injury, or family history. Typically a deep ache that’s worse with activity and after rest (“start-up stiffness”).
- Greater trochanteric pain syndrome (hip bursitis) — inflammation of the tendons and bursa on the outer hip, often from repetitive movement or a change in activity level.
- Labral tears — damage to the cartilage rim of the hip socket, often causing catching, clicking, or a sharp pinch with certain movements, particularly in younger and more active people.
- Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) — extra bone growth around the hip joint that causes friction and pain with deep hip flexion, common in athletes and dancers.
- Muscle strain — overstretched or overloaded hip flexors, adductors, or glutes, usually from a specific activity or sudden increase in training.
- Referred pain from the spine — sciatica or lower-back nerve irritation can present as hip or buttock pain with no hip joint problem at all.
When to See a Specialist
Reasonable triggers to move past self-management:
- Pain that hasn’t eased after two to three weeks of rest and modified activity
- A noticeable limp, or pain that changes how you walk
- Pain that wakes you at night, particularly when lying on the affected side
- Clicking, catching, or a feeling of the hip “giving way”
- Stiffness that makes it hard to put on socks or shoes, or get in and out of a car
- Hip pain following a fall or direct injury, especially in someone with osteoporosis risk
A sudden inability to bear weight, visible deformity, or hip pain with fever needs urgent medical attention rather than a routine appointment.
What a Hip Assessment Involves
A specialist will usually take a history of when the pain started and what makes it better or worse, then run through a physical exam checking range of motion, strength, and specific tests that help distinguish joint problems from tendon or referred pain. Imaging — an X-ray to check for arthritis or bone changes, sometimes an MRI for soft tissue detail — follows if the exam doesn’t give a clear enough answer on its own.
Treatment Usually Starts Conservative
Most hip pain, even confirmed osteoarthritis or bursitis, starts with non-surgical treatment: activity modification, physiotherapy to strengthen the surrounding muscles, anti-inflammatory medication, and sometimes a targeted injection. Surgery — including hip replacement for advanced arthritis, or arthroscopy for labral tears and impingement — is generally considered when conservative treatment hasn’t given enough relief after a fair trial, not as a first step.
Public vs Private, and What It Costs to Get Seen
As with other orthopaedic complaints, subsidised rates at public Specialist Outpatient Clinics generally need a referral from a polyclinic or GP, with the Ministry of Health reporting a median wait of around 35 days for a subsidised referral versus roughly 12 days unsubsidised. Private clinics typically offer faster booking and direct access, at a higher out-of-pocket cost — worth checking against your insurance panel before committing either way. Our guide to orthopaedic and specialist care in Singapore covers the public/private decision in more depth.
The Bottom Line
Hip pain that’s mild, recent, and improving with rest is usually fine to watch. Pain that’s persistent, affects your walk, wakes you at night, or follows an injury deserves an actual assessment rather than continued guessing — especially since the treatment for arthritis, bursitis, a labral tear, and referred back pain all look different, and treating the wrong one wastes time.
