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EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY · CONDITION GUIDE

Hip Pain Support

Exercise Physiology for hip pain means matching your exercise prescription, to what’s actually causing your pain. Whether it’s osteoarthritis, hip bursitis, a tendon problem, or a hip replacement that still doesn’t feel right, the approach is the same: work out the cause, then load the hip in a way that builds it back up.

A sore hip reaches into the small things. Stairs become something you plan around, and general advice doesn’t tell you which exercises are safe or how much load to use.

Your first session at Optimum, starts with an assessment: how your hip moves under load, and which muscles are overworking to compensate for the ones that have switched off. From there you get a program built for where your body is now.

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Exercise Physiology is available across our clinics in NSW and Tasmania, with NDIS, Medicare, DVA, CTP, private health, and self-funded patients all welcome.

Our Exercise Physiology team works with people whose hip pain has started limiting everyday life, from stairs to sleep. Sessions run in clinic, at home and in the community across NSW and Tasmania, and your program starts with a proper assessment of how you move.

Hip Pain: How to Fund
Exercise Physiology

Most people with hip pain who would like to see an exercise physiologist have more funding options than they realise. You may be eligible to funding via:

MEDICARE: a GP Chronic Disease Management Plan (formerly known as an EPC plan) from your GP, may give you up to 5 allied health sessions per calendar year with a rebate.
NDIS: You can access Exercise Physiology under Improved Daily Living or Capacity Building, and we work directly with support coordinators to make sure your plan funds are used well.
DVA: if you are a Gold or White Card holder, you are covered for Exercise Physiology referrals.
Private Health Insurance: Extras policies typically include Exercise Physiology, and we offer HICAPS on the spot.

Not sure where to start with funding? Call us on 1800 678 647 or email hello@opt.net.au. Our admin team talks people through this every day.

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Hip Conditions Our Exercise Physiologists Work With

Hip Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is the most common reason people see us for hip pain. Australian guidelines recommend exercise as a core, first-line treatment for hip osteoarthritis. But “exercise” on its own is vague. Your Exercise Physiologist prescribes targeted strengthening for the gluteal muscles and hip stabilisers, building the load up gradually so the joint can do more. A Cochrane review found that exercise on land reduces pain and improves daily function for people with hip osteoarthritis. Whether surgery is ever needed is a decision for you, your GP, and your surgeon, and many people find a structured program eases the pain enough to keep living the way they want in the meantime.

Hip Bursitis and Gluteal Tendinopathy

That sharp ache on the outside of the hip, worse when you lie on it at night, is often called hip bursitis. More often the real driver is the gluteal tendons, which is why it’s also known as greater trochanteric pain syndrome or gluteal tendinopathy. Rest and anti-inflammatories alone tend not to settle it. Your Exercise Physiologist works out which movements are loading the tendon too much, eases off those for a while, and then builds the area back up with progressive strengthening. It’s slow work, and steady loading is what the evidence points to.

Before and After a Hip Replacement

Before surgery, Exercise Physiology helps you go in stronger and more confident about what to expect. After surgery, your Exercise Physiologist guides you through staged rehabilitation, from gentle range of movement in the early weeks to loaded strengthening, balance work, and getting back to the things that matter to you. We work alongside your surgeon’s protocol and adjust the program as your hip heals, at the pace your recovery sets.

Hip Flexor and Adductor Tendinopathy

Tendons don’t respond to rest alone. They need load, but the right kind and the right amount. If your hip flexors or inner-thigh tendons are painful, your Exercise Physiologist uses isometric holds and slow, progressive loading to rebuild the tendon’s tolerance. This is not a quick fix. Tendons adapt over weeks and months, not days. Graded loading is the approach the evidence supports, and it’s exactly what Exercise Physiology does.

Hip Labral Tears and Impingement

A labral tear or hip impingement (FAI) doesn’t always mean surgery. Many people manage these well with targeted exercise that strengthens the muscles controlling the hip and stays out of the ranges that pinch. Your Exercise Physiologist works within your comfortable range and builds stability around the joint, easing the load on the labrum itself. If surgery is recommended, the same loading principles guide your preparation and your recovery afterwards.

Hip Sessions in the Hydrotherapy Pool

Warm water takes weight off the hip joint and lets you move and strengthen with less pain. Our heated hydrotherapy pools at Blacktown, Croydon Park, Campbelltown, and Mornington in Tasmania make that possible. Your Exercise Physiologist can run pool-based sessions as part of your hip program, which helps in the early stages of osteoarthritis, after surgery, or when exercising on land is too sore to start with.

INSIDE THE CLINIC

What Exercise Physiology for
Hip Pain Actually Looks Like.

Your first appointment runs about 45 to 60 minutes. Your exercise physiologist will ask when the pain started, what makes it worse, what makes it better, and how it is affecting your week. Then they will watch you move, test how your hip handles load, check which muscles are firing and which have switched off, and look at the way you walk. No surprises. No rush.

From there, your program might include targeted strengthening for the gluteal and hip-stabiliser muscles, isometric holds if a tendon is the driver, graded loading that starts where your hip is right now and builds week by week, hydrotherapy sessions in the heated pool if you are near Blacktown, Croydon Park, Campbelltown, or Mornington, and clear advice on which activities to keep, modify, or pause while your hip settles. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners recommends structured exercise as the first-line treatment for hip osteoarthritis, ahead of medication and ahead of surgery. We follow that evidence.

Follow-up sessions are around 30 minutes. Frequency depends on what we are working on. Tendinopathy and post-surgical hips often start weekly while we get the load right. Osteoarthritis works well at weekly sessions with a strong home program between visits, then less often as the home program does more of the work.

A TYPICAL COURSE OF TREATMENT

SESSION 01

Full assessment

Your story, hip range, muscle activation, gait, hands-on examination of your hip and the surrounding muscles. 45-60 minutes.

SESSIONS 02-04

Find Your Dose

Tolerable starting load, isometric holds if a tendon is the driver, gentle hip mobility. Settle the area.

SESSIONS 05-08

Build the strength

Targeted strengthening for your gluteals and hip stabilisers. Home program, hydrotherapy if helpful.

SESSIONS 09+

Return to load

Progressive loading toward the activities that matter to you. Walking, stairs, sport, sleep, work.

AVAILABLE AT 4 CLINICS

Hydrotherapy for
Hip Pain

Warm water takes weight off the hip joint while allowing you to move and strengthen with less pain. Our hydrotherapy pools at Blacktown, Croydon Park, Campbelltown, and Mornington (TAS) are heated to support comfort and muscle relaxation.

Your exercise physiologist can run pool-based sessions as part of your hip program, which is particularly useful in the early stages of osteoarthritis, post-surgical recovery, or when land-based exercise is too painful to start with.

MEDICARE - DVA - PRIVATE

Exercise Physiology for Hip Pain

A GP referral through a Chronic Disease Management Plan gives you up to 5 allied health sessions per calendar year with a Medicare rebate.

Your GP writes the plan, you book with us.

DVA Gold and White Card holders are also covered with a GP referral.

Private health insurance extras policies typically include Exercise Physiology, and we offer HICAPS on the spot.

NDIS

NDIS Exercise Physiology for Hip Pain

Hip pain that limits your mobility can be funded through your NDIS plan under Capacity Building, in the Improved Daily Living category. Your Exercise Physiologist sets goals around the things that matter in daily life: walking to the shops, getting in and out of the car, managing the front steps without holding on. We write the reports and track the data, so when your plan review comes around, the evidence is already there.

Sessions run in clinic, at home, or in the community. Self-managed, plan-managed, and NDIA-managed accepted.

NDIS
Referrals

If you are a Support Coordinator, Plan Manager or another health care professional and you would like to submit a referral, please select one of the below options.

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14 clinics across NSW & Tasmania

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Where we offer Exercise Physiology for hip pain

Blacktown

Liverpool

Croydon Park

Sylvania

Hornsby

Campbelltown

North Rocks

Batemans Bay

Nowra

Cessnock

Mornington

Dodges Ferry

Moonah

Launceston

COMMON QUESTIONS

Common Questions About Exercise Physiology for Hip Pain

Should I exercise if my hip hurts, and should I keep walking?

In most cases, gentle movement helps more than rest. Stopping everything tends to let the muscles around the hip weaken and stiffen, which can make the pain worse over time. Walking is usually fine and often helpful, as long as it doesn’t leave you sore for hours afterwards. The key is the right exercises at the right intensity. If you’ve been resting and the pain hasn’t settled, a supervised program is worth trying.

What are the best exercises for hip pain?

There’s no single best exercise. It depends on the cause. Gluteal strengthening and gentle range-of-movement work are the foundation for hip osteoarthritis. Tendon problems respond to isometric holds and slow, progressive loading. A hip after surgery follows staged steps from basic mobility to full strength. An Exercise Physiologist tests which movements your hip tolerates and builds the program from there, rather than handing you a generic sheet.

How do I know if my hip pain is a muscle or the joint?

It’s hard to tell on your own, and the two often overlap. Pain deep in the groin that’s worse with weight-bearing more often points to the joint. A sharp ache on the outside of the hip, worse lying on it, more often points to the gluteal tendons. An assessment sorts out which structures are involved and which movements set it off, which is what the program is then built around.

What does hip bursitis feel like?

Hip bursitis, more accurately gluteal tendinopathy or greater trochanteric pain syndrome, usually feels like a sharp or burning ache on the bony point on the outside of the hip. It’s often worse lying on that side at night, after sitting with the legs crossed, or climbing stairs. Rest alone tends not to settle it, because the underlying issue is usually how the tendon is being loaded.

When should I be worried about hip pain?

Most hip pain is mechanical and responds to appropriate care. See your GP promptly if the pain came on after a fall or hard knock, wakes you every night, comes with fever or unexplained weight loss, or is constant and not linked to movement. These are signs to get checked rather than to start exercising. An Exercise Physiologist will also flag anything that needs a GP or medical specialist review.

What is the difference between a Physiotherapist and an Exercise Physiologist for hip pain?

A Physiotherapist uses hands-on techniques like manual therapy and mobilisation alongside exercise, and is well-suited to the early stage of an injury. An Exercise Physiologist focuses on exercise prescription, building and progressing a structured program over weeks and months. For longer-term hip conditions, that exercise focus is often the better fit. At Optimum Health Solutions both work under one roof, so your team can combine the two.

Do I need a referral, and how many sessions will I need?

You don’t need a referral to book a private appointment. For Medicare rebates you need a GP Chronic Condition Management Plan from your doctor. NDIS participants need Exercise Physiology in their plan, and DVA patients need a GP referral. On numbers, hip osteoarthritis often starts weekly and moves toward a home program over a couple of months, post-surgical recovery is usually longer, and tendon work runs over several months. Your Exercise Physiologist gives you a realistic timeframe at the first appointment.

CLINICALLY REVIEWED BY

Kieran Doyle

APA Titled Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist APAM MACP
MMuscPhysio, GradCertMuscPhysio, MPhty, BAppSc(Ex&SpSc)

NATIONAL HEAD OF CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT (PHYSICAL REHABILITATION),
OPTIMUM HEALTH SOLUTIONS

With over 18 years of experience across Australia and the United Kingdom, Kieran is an APA Titled Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist, a qualification held by fewer than 1 in 10 physios, with a background spanning private practice, sports medicine, and complex neurological rehabilitation. He reviews all musculoskeletal content for clinical accuracy.

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