This article was reviewed by Julia Switzer, MD, FACOG.
Menopause Hip Pain: Causes and Treatments
Key takeaways
- Menopause hip pain can be caused by hormonal changes affecting bones, muscles, and joints.
- Lifestyle strategies like targeted movements, balanced nutrition, and quality sleep can help ease discomfort and support mobility.
- Treatments like physical therapy or hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may offer relief and help protect long-term joint health.
If you’re navigating menopause and suddenly find yourself grappling with intense discomfort in your hips, you’re not alone. More than 50 percent of women report new or worsening joint pain during this life stage.
It’s completely understandable to feel concerned or frustrated. Both menopause and hip pain can affect everything from daily activities to sleep quality and mood. But solutions are available.
Our guide to menopause hip pain will explore the causes, symptoms, and ways to find relief.
How Menopause Can Affect Joint Health
Menopause marks the end of your reproductive years. It’s medically defined as going 12 consecutive months without a period. But the changes that lead up to menopause usually start much earlier, during a stage called perimenopause, when hormone levels — especially estrogen — start to fluctuate.
While estrogen is a reproductive hormone, it also supports bones, muscles, and joints. So when estrogen levels fluctuate during perimenopause and stay low after menopause, the effects can ripple through your body in surprising ways.
“Many women experience joint symptoms during the menopausal transition as a result of changing hormones,” says board-certified OB-GYN Julia Switzer, MD.
Here’s how those hormonal shifts can contribute to menopause hip pain:
- Declining bone density
- Muscle and ligament changes
- Weight gain
- Increased inflammation
- Sleep disturbances and pain perception
Let’s look at these in more detail.
1. Declining Bone Density
Estrogen helps your body build and maintain strong bones, so when levels drop, bone density and strength can start to decline. Over time, this can lead to weaker bones and a condition called osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis itself doesn’t typically cause pain early on, but it increases your risk of fractures. Weakened bones can also place extra strain on nearby joints and tissues, sometimes showing up as hip pain.
2. Muscle and Ligament Changes
Estrogen doesn’t just affect bone health — it also helps keep muscles strong and joints flexible. As levels drop during menopause, you might notice more stiffness or discomfort, since muscles and connective tissues like tendons and ligaments can become less resilient.
3. Weight Gain
It’s common to notice weight changes during menopause, even if your habits haven’t changed.
Hormonal shifts, a slower metabolism, and changes in how your body stores fat can all play a role. Research shows a link between higher body weight and hip pain, likely because the extra weight can add strain to weight-bearing joints.
4. Increased Inflammation
Estrogen has anti-inflammatory effects, so when levels decline during menopause, the body may become more prone to inflammation. This can contribute to joint stiffness and pain, particularly in joints like the hips.
5. Sleep Disturbances and Pain Perception
Sleep issues are one of the most common — and frustrating — parts of menopause. Hot flashes, night sweats, and hormonal changes can all make it harder to get consistent, restful sleep.
Plus, poor sleep can heighten your sensitivity to pain, making discomfort feel more intense. It can also interfere with your body’s ability to repair muscles and reduce inflammation overnight, all of which are key to healthy joints and tissues.
Symptoms of Menopause Hip Pain
Hip pain during menopause can look and feel different for everyone. But in most cases, the symptoms are the same as hip joint pain at any stage of life.
Here are common signs that point to hip issues:
- Pain and discomfort when walking, climbing stairs, standing, or shifting positions in bed
- Stiffness after sitting for a while or first thing in the morning
- Pain at night from lying on the affected side
- Reduced range of motion for things like lifting your leg, bending, or rotating your hip
- Clicking or popping sounds and sensations in the hip
- Radiating pain that spreads into the thigh, buttock, or knee
“Some symptoms of menopause are very obvious, like hot flushes and night sweats, while others are less well-known and may seem to come out of nowhere,” says Dr. Switzer. She adds that changing hormones can also come with joint symptoms for women during this stage. “They often describe it as stiffness or ache.”
Other Causes of Hip Pain
While menopause might play a role in hip discomfort, it’s not usually the sole cause. Hip pain can stem from a range of issues — some related to aging, others to activity, injury, or inflammation.
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, is often the culprit behind hip pain, particularly as you get older. It happens when the cartilage that cushions the ends of your bones breaks down, causing bones to rub against each other. This then leads to pain, swelling, and decreased mobility.
For women in menopause, lower estrogen levels may accelerate cartilage loss and inflammation. This can worsen or even trigger osteoarthritis symptoms.
Trochanteric Bursitis
Bursae are small, fluid-filled sacs that cushion bones, tendons, and muscles, helping everything glide smoothly when you move. Sometimes, the bursa on the outer side of the hip gets irritated or inflamed — a condition called trochanteric bursitis.
This can cause a sharp or aching pain on the outside of your hip that may radiate down your thigh.
Gluteal Tendinopathy
Gluteal tendons are thick bands of tissue connecting the buttocks to the hip bone. They help keep hips stable and strong. Over time, these tendons can weaken or become irritated — a condition known as gluteal tendinopathy.
It’s more common in women, especially during midlife. This might be partly due to declining estrogen during perimenopause and menopause.
Gluteal tendinopathy menopause symptoms often overlap with bursitis. This includes tenderness or pain along the outer hip that worsens with exercises that put pressure on the bones. Standing for long periods or lying on the affected side can make the pain worse.
Sciatica
Sciatica isn’t technically a hip condition, but the pain often shows up there. It happens when the sciatic nerve — which starts in your lower back and runs down the back of each leg — becomes irritated or compressed.
The pain can range from a mild ache to a sharp, burning sensation and tingling or numbness, or even an electric jolt. It usually travels from the lower back and down to the back of the leg, sometimes reaching the foot.
Menopause Hip Pain Relief
Many strategies can help you manage discomfort and protect your joint health during menopause. Relief often comes from a combination of lifestyle changes, targeted exercises, and sometimes, medical treatments — each tailored to your needs and the underlying cause.
Lifestyle Adjustments
Small, consistent changes in your daily habits can make a big difference in easing hip pain and supporting overall well-being during menopause:
- Regular, low-impact exercise. Mixing strength training with low-impact activities like swimming, cycling, or walking can strengthen supporting muscles, maintain flexibility, and boost circulation without overloading joints. Start slowly and increase your goals gradually to avoid flare-ups.
- Whole, nutritional foods. Your diet should have enough calcium for bone health and omega-3 fatty acids to reduce inflammation. A balanced diet filled with fruits, veg, lean proteins, and whole grains can support healthy weight management, which might relieve hip pressure.
- Mindful posture. Be aware of how you move and position yourself. Avoid prolonged sitting or standing in awkward positions, and work on good posture.
- Heat and cold therapy. Taking a warm bath or using a heating pad can loosen tight muscles and improve circulation, while cold packs can reduce inflammation and numb pain. Try both.
- Adequate sleep. Sleep plays a role in how you experience and recover from pain. So, prioritize better sleep habits by creating a cool, dark, and quiet environment, sticking to a regular sleep-wake schedule, and limiting caffeine later in the day.
- Stress management. Chronic stress can add to muscle tension. Experiment with calming activities like yoga, meditation, or breathing exercises to reduce overall stress.
Physical Therapy
Physical therapy is often one of the most effective perimenopause hip pain treatment options. A physical therapist can assess how you move and create a personalized plan to restore strength, flexibility, and comfort.
Your treatment plan may include:
- Targeted exercises. Strengthening gluteal muscles, hip abductors, and core helps stabilize the joint to reduce strain. Gentle stretching can improve flexibility and ease stiffness.
- Manual therapy. Hands-on techniques like massage or joint mobilization can improve range of motion, relieve spasms, and reduce pain.
- Physical therapy tools. Your therapist might use tools or equipment like an ultrasound or dry needling to decrease inflammation and support healing.
- Education. You’ll learn proper posture, movement techniques, and ways to protect your hips in daily life — so you can manage things long-term.
Injections
If lifestyle changes and physical therapy aren’t helping enough, your healthcare provider might recommend injections to directly target the hip pain. These treatments are typically done by an orthopedic specialist and can offer relief, though sometimes only temporarily.
Here’s what your provider might suggest:
- Corticosteroid injections. These deliver anti-inflammatory medication directly into the affected area. They ease pain and reduce inflammation, but the effects wear off over time.
- Viscosupplementation (hyaluronic acid injections). For osteoarthritis, hyaluronic acid injections can help restore joint lubrication, improving mobility and reducing discomfort. Think of it as replenishing the joint’s “shock absorber.”
- Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections. PRP uses your own blood to help your body heal and repair tissues. A small sample is taken, processed to concentrate the platelets (which are full of growth factors), and then injected into the area that’s causing pain. More research is needed here, though.
Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)
Hormone replacement therapy works by supplementing the hormones your body isn’t making as much of — mainly estrogen and sometimes progesterone — to ease symptoms like hot flashes, mood changes, and vaginal dryness.
For hip pain specifically, HRT may:
- Improve bone density. Replenishing estrogen can help slow bone loss and reduce the risk of fractures, which can contribute to hip discomfort.
- Reduce inflammation. Estrogen’s anti-inflammatory effects might help ease stress on joints.
- Support tissue health. HRT may help keep muscles, tendons, and ligaments healthier and more resilient, giving your hips better support.
A medical provider can help you understand if HRT is the right option for you in the context of your hip pain and other menopausal symptoms.
Bottom Line: Menopause and Hip Pain
Menopause brings many changes — some expected, some not so much — like hip pain. Although hip pain itself isn’t unique to menopause, hormonal changes can make you more prone to noticing or experiencing it.
“It’s important to have this evaluated by a physician, as there are other musculoskeletal conditions that could cause joint pain or stiffness,” says Dr. Switzer.
Work with your healthcare team to pinpoint the root of your pain and create a plan that’s right for you — whether that’s HRT, physical therapy, lifestyle adjustments, injections, or a mix.
By learning how hormonal shifts affect bones, muscles, and joints, you’re already taking an important first step toward relief.
FAQs
See answers to frequently asked questions about menopause hip pain below.
Is hip pain always a sign of menopause?
No. The hormonal changes of menopause can contribute to joint pain, but many other factors can cause it. Things like osteoarthritis, bursitis, tendinopathy, or sciatica could be at play. Talk to your healthcare provider to find out the exact cause of your hip pain.
What does menopause hip pain feel like?
Hip pain during menopause can feel similar to joint pain at other times in life, but it may emerge or worsen as estrogen levels drop. You might notice stiffness, aching, or sharp pain with everyday movements — like walking, climbing stairs, or getting out of bed. Some people also experience clicking or popping sounds, or pain that radiates down the leg or into the lower back.
Can HRT cure menopausal hip pain?
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) might help with menopausal hip pain, especially if hip pain is linked to estrogen decline affecting bone density. But it’s not a guaranteed cure and may not address all types of hip pain. Think of HRT as a tool in a broader plan to support your hips and overall health — particularly if you’re also experiencing menopause symptoms like hot flashes or mood swings.
What exercises help with hip pain during menopause?
Low-impact exercises are a good place to start if you have hip pain during menopause. Swimming, water aerobics, cycling on flat surfaces, using an elliptical, or gentle yoga and Pilates can help maintain strength and flexibility without adding stress. Start slow, increase intensity gradually, and consider working with a physical therapist for a program tailored to your needs.
How can I tell if my hip pain is serious?
Reach out for medical help if your hip pain is severe, comes on suddenly, prevents you from putting weight on your leg, or is accompanied by fever, chills, or redness around the joint. Even if symptoms are milder but persist despite rest and lifestyle changes, it’s worth checking in with a healthcare provider.
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This article originally appeared on ForHers.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
