What to Expect from Physiotherapy for Trochanteric Bursitis

Pain around the outer hip can involve the bursa and nearby gluteal tendons. Your physiotherapist may assess walking, stairs, single-leg control, hip movement, back contribution, and tenderness around the greater trochanter. They may ask about sleeping on your side, running, hills, prolonged standing, and recent changes in activity. This information helps separate local hip pain from pain referred from the back or another joint.

Early advice often reduces direct pressure and sudden spikes in load: avoid lying on the painful side, use a pillow between the knees if helpful, and adjust hills or repeated stairs temporarily. Exercises may begin with gentle gluteal activation and progress to hip abductor, pelvic, and trunk strength. Your therapist can then add walking, running, or work-specific tasks. Improvement is guided by how the hip responds during the activity and later that day, not by forcing through sharp pain.

Arrange medical assessment for inability to bear weight, severe pain after a fall, a hot or visibly swollen hip, fever, unexplained weight loss, or pain that is constant at rest. Seek urgent help for sudden leg weakness, new bladder or bowel problems, or numbness around the saddle area. Tell your therapist if symptoms are spreading or not behaving like a local outer-hip problem.

Ask which loads are safe now, how to sleep more comfortably, when to progress strengthening, and whether your symptoms suggest tendon involvement or referred pain. Clarify how to resume sport, stairs, or longer walks.