“Tight hips” is something I hear almost daily in clinic, usually described as a pulling or discomfort around the outer hips or into the buttocks. For many people, the first instinct is to stretch. While that can feel helpful in the moment, it often doesn’t seem to last.

If that sounds familiar, it’s usually a sign that stretching alone isn’t addressing the full picture. I will explain why that tightness keeps returning, and what can help you more in the long-term.

Why Stretching Isn’t Always Enough

Stretching has an important role in hip rehab. It can reduce tension, improve comfort, and is often a good place to start. However, if the tightness keeps coming back, it usually means there is more going on.

In many cases, the muscles being stretched aren’t truly shortened. Instead, they are often working harder than they should be and becoming fatigued. Stretching may ease the sensation temporarily, but it doesn’t address why those muscles are under increased load in the first place.

What’s Often Driving the Tightness

A common contributing factor is prolonged sitting. When we spend much of the day at a desk or in the car, the hips aren’t moving through their full range, and certain muscles, particularly the glutes, can become under-active.

When these muscles are not working as well as they should, they are often not as strong as they could be. As a result, other muscles around the outer hip begin to take on more of the workload. These muscles then become overworked and more sensitive, which is what many people experience as “tightness.”

This creates an imbalance between underactive muscles that aren’t contributing enough, and overactive muscles that are doing too much. The body will often respond by increasing tension in these areas as a way of maintaining stability.

What Actually Helps

A combination of movement, stretching, and strengthening tends to be most effective.

Stretching can help reduce discomfort, particularly for the outer hip and gluteal muscles. However, for long-term improvement, it is important to also restore strength and control so that the workload is more evenly distributed.

Here’s an example of 3 simple-yet-effective hip strengthening exercises that you can try at home. Do each exercise 3 times per week, up to 3 sets of 10-15 reps. (If in doubt always consult with your healthcare provider before trying new exercises).

Glute bridge 

• Lie on your back with bent knees and the soles of your feet on the bed/floor. 
• Gently rock your hips toward your head. 
• Gradually lift up one vertebrae at a time off the floor.
• Keep gluts and abdomen contracted and make sure your lower back does not hyperextend.
• Hold for a few seconds.
• Slowly your lower spine back down, one vertebrae at a time. 
• Relax your pelvis once your spine is on the floor.

Clam and side-lying leg raises

• Lie on your side, with legs stacked and knees bent at a 45-degree angle. Your shoulders, hips and ankles will all be in line with each other.
• Rest your head on your lower arm, and use your top arm to steady yourself.
• Engage/gently squeeze your abdominals and glutes. This will help stabilize your spine and pelvis, and stop your hips going backwards.
• Clam version:
  • Keeping your feet touching, slowly raise your upper knee as high as you can without shifting your hips or pelvis (the feeling of pushing your top hip forward will help). Don’t move your lower leg off the floor.
  • Pause for a few seconds, then slowly return your upper leg to the starting position.
  • Repeat for one full set before repeating the above steps for the other side.
• Side-lying leg raise:
  • Straighten your top leg, squeezing your quad muscles (front of thigh).
  • Slowly lift your top leg up towards the ceiling, keeping your toes pointing forward to target the glutes.
  • Lift as high as comfortable without rocking your hips forward or backward. 
  • Slowly lower the leg back down, stopping just above the floor to maintain tension. 
  • Repeat for one full set before repeating on the other side.

Sit-to-stand

• Sit upright on a sturdy chair, feet flat on the floor.
• Cross arms in front of your chest.
• Press through your heels to stand up tall.
• Slowly lower back down to the chair.
• Intermediate version: When going from sit-to-stand, keep majority of your weight in your stance-side leg, but use your other foot to ‘kick-off’ to help you push off and rise to standing.
• Advanced version: One leg sit-to stands – keep one foot off the floor at all times. Make sure you come back down slowly, and maintain good hip, knee and ankle alignment

When done 3x per week, these exercises help address imbalances by encouraging the under-active gluteal muscles to do more of their role, which in turn reduces the strain on the overworked areas.

Alongside this, general movement throughout the day plays an important role, don’t underestimate the benefit of a 15 minute walk! If you are sitting for long periods, aim to get up every 30-45 minutes and move around for a few minutes. The key is consistency – regular movement helps reduce the build-up of stiffness and muscle tension.

When to Seek Further Advice

If your symptoms don’t quite fit what’s been described here, it’s worth getting things checked. Pain that sits deeper in the groin, feels sharp or catching, or isn’t improving despite making some of these changes may need a closer look.

It’s also worth being aware that buttock pain doesn’t always come directly from the hip itself. In some cases, it can be referred from the lower back, particularly if a nerve is involved. This isn’t usually anything serious, but it can change how the issue is managed.

If you’re not seeing progress, getting some guidance can help. You can book an appointment online or get in touch with us to discuss what might work best for you.

A Different Way to Think About “Tight” Hips

If there’s one thing to take away from this, it’s that tightness isn’t always just about needing to stretch more. In many cases, it’s a sign that certain muscles are working harder than they should, often because others aren’t doing enough.

That’s why a combination of movement, stretching, and strengthening tends to work better than focusing on one thing alone. By improving how the hip is supported and sharing the workload more evenly, the feeling of tightness often settles more naturally.

Published 21/04/2026

PS: If you feel like you need a ‘mental reset’ check out my article “A Gentle Spring Clean for Your Health“.