This page is awaiting validation. It does not replace a consultation or a programme adapted to your situation.
Three simple anatomical landmarks
The hip is the joint between the head of the femur and a socket in the pelvis. It allows the leg to move in several directions. The pelvis forms a bony assembly that connects the trunk to the lower limbs. The groin is the region of the fold between the lower abdomen and the upper thigh; it is not a separate joint.
Muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves pass around these structures. At the back are the sacroiliac joints and, further down, the coccyx. Organs are also located in the pelvis. This proximity explains why pain in the groin or buttock does not automatically correspond to a muscular problem or osteoarthritis.
Understand the picture
Locate the hip, pelvis and groin
Hip
The head of the femur and the socket of the pelvis form the joint.
Groin
The front crease connects the lower abdomen to the upper thigh.
Pelvis
The bony ring includes joints in the front and back.
Describe the pain before looking for a name
You can indicate the side, main area, time of onset and difficult movements. Does the pain appear on contact with the mattress, when you raise your knee, after a run or when taking the first steps? Is there any stiffness, clicking, numbness, or loss of strength? This information helps prepare for the clinical assessment.
Pain can be felt far from its source: a hip can sometimes manifest itself at the knee, and the back can give symptoms towards the buttock or the leg. Existing guides on low back pain and sciatica expand on these possibilities. Avoid choosing a diagnosis by superimposing your pain point on an image found online.
Questions about the hip joint
The article on osteoarthritis explains stiffness, pain and choices to maintain function. The one on the impingement and the labrum helps to understand terms in medical reports and the necessary link with the symptoms. Dysplasia has a separate page because insufficient coverage of the head of the femur requires specific questions.
These guides show why an image is not enough to decide on a treatment. An X-ray or MRI can be helpful, but it answers a specific medical question. You can prepare for your consultation by asking what the exam looks for, how its result corresponds to your discomfort and what decisions it actually allows you to make.
Tendons, side pain and sport
Pain on the side of the hip may involve the gluteal tendons and neighboring bursa. The dedicated page explains pressure, loads and adaptations for sleeping and walking. Groin pain in athletes is covered in the pubalgia guide, with a distinction between several structures and between acute injury and persistent pain.
A click in the front or side is the subject of another page, because a painless noise does not raise the same questions as a painful catch. It is not enough to name the psoas or the adductors to choose an exercise. Situations of testicular pain or true hernia follow a different medical orientation.
Pelvis, pregnancy and coccyx: different contexts
The sacroiliac joint page explains pain behind the pelvis, diagnostic uncertainties, and the difference with nerve or inflammatory pain. A section also distinguishes deep buttock pain from SI joint problem. Links to sciatica and spondyloarthritis avoid competing explanations.
Pregnancy and the postpartum period have their own page, as precautions and care pathways change. Tailbone pain is also discussed separately, with advice for sitting and everyday life. Urinary problems, bleeding or pain in the pelvic organs are not limited to these movement guides.
After hip replacement or a fracture
The hip replacement page covers planned surgery: preparation, return home, follow-up and progress. The post-fracture guide takes into account an often unexpected situation, general health, fall prevention and help from loved ones. These pathways should not be confused, although a prosthesis can sometimes be used to treat a fracture.
In both cases, individual instructions about weight bearing and movement take priority. Keep the discharge letter and team contact details. The exercise library is a discussion support, not a replacement for a post-operative program. New unusual pain or a sign of complication requires appropriate advice.
When to use the exercises and everyday advice?
After clarifying the precautions, the Exercises page explains three simple movements with position, execution, starting dose and stopping criteria. You can select exercises for a PDF sheet to discuss with the professional. Some problems require another selection or a more specific program.
Daily advice covers walking, sleeping, working and resuming activity. These are practical tests to adapt, not a set of perfect postures. The Our treatment page describes the preparation of an assessment and the possible objectives. It only uses confirmed practice information and does not add specialties or promises of results.
In everyday life
Prepare a question for your consultation
Locate
Show the area and explain how long it has been tender.
Describe
Choose a task and its accompanying symptoms.
Ask
What causes are possible, what precautions and what next step?
Start with the right help path
Consult the warning signs guide before trying an exercise if you have significant new pain, a fall, loss of the ability to bear weight on the leg or unusual symptoms. Certain neurological changes, sudden testicular pain, difficulty breathing after an operation or feeling unwell require urgent help. In Luxembourg, 112 is the emergency number.
For a non-urgent question, KinéCheck helps find a region and information. It does not give a diagnosis and does not rule out serious illness. You can also choose an article directly in the Pains and ailments section. If you are hesitant between several explanations or if the symptoms persist, an assessment is more useful than a succession of personal tests.
Your questions
Can the location of pain tell me the cause?
The location helps to describe the symptom, but several structures can give pain nearby or at a distance. The history, movements, function and sometimes additional examinations help to better orient the situation. A pain map is not enough.
Which article should I choose if I don’t know the diagnosis?
Start with the warning signs if the symptom is new or concerning. Otherwise, use the descriptions on this page to find questions closest to yours. Do not transform a resemblance into certainty; an assessment can clarify the situation.
Chapter sources [1]
Is groin pain always a problem for physiotherapy?
No. A hernia, a testicular, urinary, digestive or pregnancy-related problem may require another medical route. The warning signs guide explains these limitations. Sudden testicular pain should not wait for a physio appointment.
Are the texts already medically approved?
Medical review status is displayed on each page. Review by Hasib Selimovic remains pending until it has actually taken place. The Luxembourgish and Bosnian translations are also flagged for checking by a native speaker. The texts do not replace a consultation.
Chapter sources [21]
Sources and references
- [1] NHS — Hip pain in adults
- [2] NHS — Pelvic pain
- [3] Assurance Maladie — Arthrose de la hanche
- [4] NHS — Sciatica and urgent neurological symptoms
- [5] NICE NG226 — Osteoarthritis
- [6] Griffin et al. — Warwick Agreement on FAI syndrome
- [7] Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital — Hip dysplasia in teenagers and young adults
- [8] Cambridge University Hospitals — Gluteal tendinopathy
- [9] Weir et al. — Doha agreement on groin pain in athletes
- [10] AAOS OrthoInfo — Snapping hip
- [11] NHS — Testicle pain
- [12] NHS — Hernia
- [13] International working group — Sacroiliac joint complex pain
- [14] NICE NG65 — Spondyloarthritis
- [15] NICE NG201 — Antenatal care
- [16] NHS — Tailbone pain
- [17] NICE NG157 — Joint replacement
- [18] NICE CG124 — Hip fracture management
- [19] NHS — Complications of a hip replacement
- [20] NHS Inform — Exercises for hip problems
- [21] Kiné Diddeleng — Première visite
- [22] CGDIS Luxembourg — 112
Text updated on
Medical review: awaiting Hasib Selimovic.