Hip Pain in Women: Common Causes Linked to Posture and Movement

Key Takeaways

• Hip pain in women can come from the hip joint, the tendons and muscles around it, or the lower back and pelvis, and often more than one at once.
• Some causes are reported more often in women, partly because of pelvic shape, hormones, and life stages.
• Pregnancy, the months after childbirth, and menopause can each change how the hips are loaded.
• Everyday habits many women share, such as carrying a child on one hip or long days at a desk, are often part of the picture.
• Pain after a fall, with a fever, or that stops you from putting weight on the leg needs a doctor first.

It rarely starts with anything dramatic. Stiff first steps out of the car after an hour in KL traffic. A dull ache on the outside of the hip when you roll onto that side at night. A twinge on the stairs with a child on one hip and a bag on the other shoulder. It comes and goes, so you carry on.

Then it stays, and you start to wonder what can cause hip pain in a woman when there was no fall and no obvious injury. The answer is rarely one thing. This guide looks at the common hip pain causes in women, why pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause matter, why the lower back and hip so often hurt together, how daily habits fit in, and when to see a doctor.

What Are the Common Causes of Hip Pain in Women?

Most hip pain in women comes from one of three places: the hip joint, the soft tissues around it, or strain passed on from the lower back and pelvis. Several of these are reported more often in women than in men.

• Changes in the joint itself. Wear-related changes, often described as osteoarthritis, become more common with age and are reported more often in women. They tend to show up as stiffness or a deep ache in the groin after sitting.
• Irritated tendons and cushioning sacs on the outer hip. These cause aching on the side of the hip, often worse when lying on that side at night. This is particularly common in women in midlife.
• Muscle strain, often after a sudden increase in activity or an awkward lift with a child in your arms.
• The lower back and pelvis, which can send pain into the hip even when the hip itself is fine.
• Less common causes, such as a groin hernia or a fracture after a fall.

More than one of these can be present at once, which is why two women with a similar ache can have quite different explanations.

Why Hip Pain Can Be Different for Women

Most hip pain causes in females are shared with everyone, but pelvic shape, hormones and life stages add factors that men do not face in the same way.

• Pelvic shape. A wider pelvis changes the angle at which load passes through the hip and down to the knee.
• Hormonal changes. Shifts across the menstrual cycle, pregnancy and menopause are often discussed in relation to joint and soft tissue comfort.
• After childbirth. The pelvic floor and hip muscles work together, so the muscles around the hip may work harder than before while the body recovers.
• Around menopause. Outer hip tendon pain is often discussed at this stage, though the direct cause is not clear. Changes in bone strength also make a fall onto the hip a reason to see a doctor promptly.
• Pelvic conditions. Occasionally, hip-area pain relates to the pelvic organs. Mention it to your doctor if it comes with changes to your periods or ongoing pelvic pain, but do not assume this is the cause.

If hip pain is new or lasting at any of these stages, it is worth raising with your doctor.

Hip Joint Pain in Women, or Pain Around the Hip?

Where you feel the pain offers a useful clue. Mayo Clinic notes that pain on the inside of the hip or in the groin usually points to the joint itself, while pain on the outer hip, upper thigh or outer buttock more often involves the muscles, ligaments, and tendons around it.

So hip joint pain in women is more often felt at the front, while side and back-of-hip pain usually involves the surrounding tissues or the lower back.

This table is not a self-assessment tool. The same spot can have several possible sources, and pain can travel. Only a doctor can work out what is actually going on.

When Should Hip Pain Be Checked by a Doctor?

Hip pain should be checked by a doctor if it follows a fall or injury, comes with a fever, or stops you from putting weight on your leg. The NHS also advises seeing a GP if hip pain is stopping you from doing normal activities or affecting your sleep, and cautions against trying to diagnose the cause yourself.

Get urgent medical care if you have:

• A hip that looks misshapen or out of place, or a leg that seems shorter after a fall or injury
• Pain that stops you from moving the leg or putting weight on it
• Intense pain or sudden swelling
• Fever, chills, or redness around the hip
• Sudden, severe pain low in the abdomen or pelvis, particularly if you could be pregnant
• Loss of feeling around the genitals or back passage, or changes in bladder or bowel control

See a doctor if you have:

• Hip pain that is stopping normal activities or disturbing your sleep
• Pain that keeps getting worse, or is not settling
• Numbness, tingling or weakness spreading down the leg
• Unexplained weight loss alongside the pain

This list cannot tell you what is causing your pain. Having none of these signs does not mean nothing is wrong, so if something does not feel right, mention it to your doctor.

Lower Back and Hip Pain in Women

Lower back and hip pain in women often turn up together because the spine, pelvis, and hips work as one connected unit. Pregnancy and childbirth place particular demands on that unit.

At the back of the pelvis sit the sacroiliac joints, which link the spine to the pelvis. When they are irritated, the ache can spread into the buttock and hip. Irritation of the sciatic nerve can also send pain from the lower back through the buttock and down the leg, sometimes with tingling or numbness.

During pregnancy, a growing bump shifts posture and how weight passes through the pelvis. After birth, lifting, carrying, and feeding a baby in the same position keep that load going while the body recovers. Long desk days add to it. This is why focusing only on the spot that hurts can miss part of the picture.

What Does Pain in the Right Hip Area Mean for Women?

On its own, pain in the right hip area does not point to one cause. Muscles, tendons, the joint, and the lower back are the most common sources, and the left side works the same way.

Side matters more in daily habits, because so many are one-sided, from the hip you carry a child on to the right leg working the pedals in stop-and-go traffic. These are clues worth noticing, not proof of a cause.

Less often, pain felt low on the right side can come from organs in the abdomen or pelvis, such as the appendix or an ovary. If right-sided pain comes with a fever, abdominal pain, nausea or vomiting, or there is any chance you are pregnant, seek medical care promptly.

Hip Pain During Pregnancy

Hip pain during pregnancy is common, and it is often part of what is called pelvic girdle pain. The NHS describes this as discomfort caused by the pelvic joints becoming stiff or moving unevenly. It is not harmful to your baby, but it can make getting around difficult.

North Bristol NHS Trust puts it at around one in five pregnancies. The pain may be felt at the front of the pelvis, the lower back, or across the hips and thighs, and is often worse on stairs, turning in bed, or getting in and out of a car.

Tell your midwife or doctor early, since the NHS notes early diagnosis can help keep pain to a minimum. Discuss any hands-on care during pregnancy with them first.

Contact your midwife or doctor straight away if you have:

• Severe or sudden pain in your abdomen
• Vaginal bleeding
• A fever
• Swelling, pain, warmth or redness in one leg
• Regular tightening or period-like pains before 37 weeks

Everyday Habits Linked to Hip Pain in Women

Many everyday habits load the hips unevenly or keep them still for long stretches, and several are especially common in women’s routines.

A long desk day in Damansara or KLCC keeps the hips bent and the surrounding muscles quiet, so standing up feels stiff. Carrying a child on the same hip, a handbag on the same shoulder, crossing the same leg, or feeding a baby in the same chair keeps the load uneven. Some women notice a difference after long days in heels. And a sudden change, such as a new fitness class or moving workouts indoors to escape the humidity, asks the body to adjust quickly.

A few general principles are often suggested:

• Change position regularly rather than staying still for long stretches.
• Get up and move during long drives and back-to-back meetings where you can.
• Share the load by switching the hip you carry a child on, or the shoulder you carry a bag on.
• Build up new activity gradually.
• If lying on your side is uncomfortable, a pillow between the knees helps some people.

These are principles, not a programme, and they do not replace medical advice.

What Does a Musculoskeletal Assessment Look At?

An assessment looks at how you move and where you hold tension day to day, alongside any medical advice you have been given.

It generally considers how you sit, stand and walk, how the hips, pelvis and lower back move together, where tension builds, your daily routine and one-sided habits, your activity levels, any recent life changes such as pregnancy or childbirth, and how symptoms change through the day.

It does not diagnose joint conditions, fractures, nerve problems, or conditions of the pelvic organs, and it does not replace seeing a doctor.

Where Does Gentle Hands-On Care Fit?

Fascia is the thin connective tissue that wraps around muscles and joints, a little like cling film around a bundle. Around the hips, pelvis, and lower back, it responds to sustained tension and repetitive daily patterns such as long hours of sitting or carrying a child on one side.

Bowen Therapy is one gentle, hands-on method used within a wider assessment-led approach. It involves light, precise movements over selected muscles and soft tissues, with short pauses between them. There is no cracking, no forceful manipulation, and no machines, oils, or exercises during a session.

To be clear about what it is and is not, gentle hands-on care is not a treatment for hip joint conditions and does not replace medical care. Where an assessment finds soft tissue tension around the hips, pelvis or lower back linked to everyday habits, it may be considered as one way to support comfort and movement. If you are pregnant, speak to your midwife or doctor first.

Why People Choose My Bowen Therapy

Choosing where to go for support with hip discomfort is a personal decision, and it helps to know a little about who you would be working with. At My Bowen Therapy, we start by understanding your posture, movement, areas of tension, and everyday habits before deciding what may be suitable.

Our approach is:

• Gentle
• Hands-on
• Non-invasive
• Drug-free
• No machines
• Focused on long-term movement comfort

Why people choose My Bowen Therapy:

• 22,000+ clients supported across Kuala Lumpur
• 4.9-star Google rating from 700+ verified reviews
• Locations in Damansara/TTDI and KLCC, Etiqa Twins
• Treatments starting from RM130
• Free consultation and posture analysis for new clients
• Suitable for people who prefer a natural, hands-on approach

 Hip Pain in Women Rarely Has Just One Cause

Hip pain in women usually involves more than one piece: the joint, the tissues around it, or the lower back and pelvis, with life stages and daily habits adding to the picture. Where you feel it is a clue, not the answer.

Notice what brings the pain on, keep your routine varied, and have it checked when it does not settle. If a symptom is worrying you, or anything on the warning lists above applies, speak to a doctor first.

If you would like to understand how your own posture and movement habits fit in, you are welcome to arrange a musculoskeletal assessment with our team in Damansara/TTDI or KLCC.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can cause hip pain in a woman?

Common causes include changes in the hip joint, irritated tendons or muscles around the hip, and strain from the lower back or pelvis. Pregnancy, the months after childbirth and menopause can add extra factors. Because causes overlap, a doctor is best placed to identify yours.

What does pain in the right hip area mean for a female?

It does not point to one cause. Muscles, tendons, the joint and the lower back are the most common sources, and one-sided habits can play a part. If right-sided pain comes with fever, abdominal pain or vomiting, seek medical care promptly.

Why do women often get lower back and hip pain together?

The spine, pelvis and hips work as one unit, so strain in one area is often felt in another. Pregnancy, the months after birth and long desk days all load this area. Pain spreading down the leg with numbness should be checked by a doctor.

How can I tell if it is hip joint pain?

Pain in the groin or deep at the front of the hip more often relates to the joint itself. Outer hip and buttock pain more often involves the tissues around it or the lower back. These are general patterns, and only a doctor can confirm the source.

Is hip pain during pregnancy normal?

It is common and is often part of pelvic girdle pain, which the NHS says is not harmful to your baby. It can still make daily life harder, so tell your midwife or doctor early. Seek help straight away for severe abdominal pain, bleeding or a swollen, painful leg.

Can Bowen Therapy help with hip pain?

Bowen Therapy is not a treatment for hip joint conditions and does not replace medical care. Where an assessment finds soft tissue tension around the hips, pelvis or lower back linked to everyday habits, it may be considered as one gentle way to support comfort.