Top 3 Mistakes People Make When Rehabbing Hip Pain in the Gym

Hip pain doesn’t just show up out of nowhere. Whether it’s a pinch at the bottom of a squat, tightness after deadlifts, or soreness after running—it’s often a sign that something isn’t moving well.

The problem? Most people either ignore it or jump into a rehab plan that actually makes it worse— because it is not actually individualized towards them!

Let’s walk through the 3 biggest mistakes I see with hip pain rehab in active adults—and how you can fix them!

Mistake #1: Stretching What’s Already Overworked

That tight feeling in your hip? It doesn’t always mean the muscle is short—it might actually be doing too much work to compensate for weakness somewhere else. Stretching it might feel good in the moment but won't fix the real problem and could make matters worse.

Fix it: Instead of just stretching your hip flexors or glutes, assess why they're tight. You might need to load your core, stabilize your pelvis, or activate other muscles instead.

Mistake #2: Skipping Lateral & Rotational Strength

Most gym programs focus on moving forward and backward—like squats, lunges, and deadlifts. But your hip lives in three dimensions. It needs strength and control in lateral and rotational planes too. Especially if you are active in sports like pickleball, tennis, or golf!

Fix it: Add in movements like lateral step-downs, cossack squats, 90/90 lifts, and plyometric work to focus on creating a more resilient hip.

Mistake #3: Failing to Reintegrate the Hip Back into Main Lifts

Even if you’re doing rehab exercises, if you’re not gradually re-loading into squats, hinges, or step-ups with intent—you’re not teaching your body how to use the hip properly again. You’re just avoiding the problem.

Fix it: Once symptoms calm down, start retraining movement patterns with a safe starting point. Break down your lifts and rebuild them with better control, positioning, and loading.

Final Thoughts

You don’t have to stop lifting because your hip hurts—but you do need a smarter strategy before things get worse. A lot of hip pain is movement-related, which means you can train your way out of it if you do it right.