How to Make Hip Pain Disappear Once and for All

In this post: For many people, hip pain is caused by tight muscles--one in particular. Read on to learn how to stretch this muscle and get rid of hip pain right now!

When I was pregnant with my second son, I started having hip pain almost to the day that the second trimester began. I moved right from week 13 into debilitating pain.

What started as hip pain progressed to difficulty walking and taking the stairs, then moved right into a drop-you-to-the-ground zinger that would show up for no particular reason. Not only that, I could get zingers in either leg and sometimes both at the same time.

I can stay pretty upright when one leg gives out on me, but I tend to drop to the floor when both legs quit at the same time. Because I had no interest in falling while pregnant, I started researching the possible cause of my pain and what I could do to get rid of it.

The Hidden Cause of Hip Pain

piriformis muscle

With the zinging pain shooting down through my leg, I immediately thought of piriformis syndrome, also known as sciatica. In sciatica, the piriformis muscle compresses the sciatic nerve and pain shoots from the hip, down the back of the leg, and through the foot.

For some people, the hip pain might be quite localized or only travel part of the way down the leg. Even in these cases, the piriformis is a possible cause of your pain.

I decided to research sciatica so I turned to my trusty friend (and sometimes doctor), Google. After a little bit of clicking and reading, I discovered that, because I was pregnant, I probably did not have sciatica. Instead, I had something called pubis symphysis dysfunction, which almost exclusively appears in pregnant women and has symptoms quite similar to sciatica including down-the-leg zingers.

What Can You Do?

There's something so gratifying about having a name for whatever the thing is that has been causing you so much pain. Naming your opponent makes it seem more likely that you can defeat it. Pubis symphysis dysfunction, I thought, get ready to be defeated.

I kept researching and learned that pubis symphysis dysfunction means the spot where the pubic bones are supposed to "join" is out of whack. The pubic bones shift, cause pelvic instability, and pain ensues.

I thought, Well, good. If my pain's from shifting pubic bones, there must be something I can do to help. Wrong. Dr. Google revealed that there's really nothing to do about pubis symphysis dysfunction; it's just something that goes away after pregnancy. Reading that felt like a punch to the gut.

The following information--that you should avoid sitting, standing, and taking the stairs--rained down like jabs and uppercuts. It wasn't lost on me that I was sitting while I was reading this, would stand, and then walk upstairs to go to bed in a handful of minutes. Round 1 Winner:  pubis symphysis dysfunction.

But Wait a Second...

At first, I felt defeated. How was I going to make it through the rest of the pregnancy?

Then, I got mad.

Are you kidding me? There is nothing to do but wait for this pregnancy to be over like it's some kind of prison sentence of pain? That's just not my style!

When it comes to pain, just waiting for it to pass has never been an acceptable answer for me. I've always been one to try to tackle the issue head-on with some muscle stretches and strengthening exercises. Still, I had no idea what to do and couldn't find any help in my research.

Luckily, while I was trying to figure out what to do to make myself feel better, I continued my yoga practice. I didn't realize it at the time, but yoga offered up the perfect solutions to my hip pain.

How to Get Rid of Hip Pain

I could attend yoga class only once a week, but I came every week until I gave birth. After each class, I was pain-free for the rest of the day and sometimes even a couple of days afterward.

When I went home after class, I did my best to practice the most helpful poses from yoga class. I tried all the poses I could remember, and I felt so much better!

About a week after I noticed how well yoga was helping me, one of my clients came in with sciatica. He had a shooting zing from his hip down through his leg and wanted to know if I had any ideas about how to get rid of it. Boy, did I!

Because I spent so much time researching sciatica and the piriformis earlier, I was ready to help. I took the yoga poses specifically for sciatica and combined them with some of my favorite poses from my classes to create a mild yoga sequence for him.

Could that Get Rid of Sciatica, Too?

get rid of hip painI thought about all the different yoga poses that stretched and strengthened the piriformis, and we started there. In our time together, we would practice specific yoga poses. Then, after walks and whenever he felt his hips start to tighten, my client would stretch at home.

After a couple of weeks of really focusing on this muscle, he was pain-free! With our sessions twice a week and his diligent work at home, he got rid of his sciatica in just a couple of weeks.

With no shots, no medicines, and no doctors; he got rid of his pain.

These 6 Yoga Poses Will Get Rid of Your Hip Pain

If you have hip pain or drop-you-to-the-ground zingers and you want to try some stretches or exercises to see if you can fix it yourself, I've got the answer for you.

I created a FREE digital guide, Get Rid of Hip Pain with These Six Yoga Poses. In this guide, you will learn how to correctly and safely practice:

  1. Windshield wiper legs,
  2. Yoga hamstring stretch,
  3. Happy baby pose,
  4. Pigeon pose modification,
  5. Warrior 1 pose, and
  6. Lunge pose.


If you're ready to make your hip pain disappear once and for all, just sign up for your FREE digital download.

I hope these six yoga poses help you become pain-free. Remember, regular practice is the key to pain relief.

Also, make sure to pay attention to how your body feels as you move. Although hip pain can be an easy-to-fix muscular issue for many people, it's not the case for everyone. If something feels very wrong or the pain increases, stop immediately and contact your doctor.

Are there other stretches or yoga poses that you do to get rid of hip pain? Let us know in the comments below.

About Sarah Stockett

Hi, I'm Sarah! I'm a certified Pilates and yoga instructor with a passion for pain relief. I believe you can use simple exercises to relieve your aches + pains. AND, I believe I can teach you how.