Gluteal Tendinopathy
Gluteal tendinopathy is a common cause of lateral hip pain, which can also be referred to as Greater Trochanter Pain Syndrome. It affects the tendons that attach the gluteal muscles to the greater trochanter of the femur. This condition can significantly impact daily activities and athletic performance if not properly managed.
What Is Gluteal Tendinopathy?
Gluteal tendinopathy involves gradual changes to the gluteal tendons over time, typically due to changes in load. Essentially, a failed healing response in the tendon occurs, resulting in changes to the tendon properties and pain and dysfunction in the affected area.
What Causes Gluteal Tendinopathy?
Gluteal tendinopathy is typically caused by a change in load that the tendon wasn’t prepared for. This can include big changes such as taking up running, a sudden increasing your gym session frequency or intensity, or something more subtle, such as changes in footwear. Other causes can be muscle weakness causing overload of the tendon, altered biomechanics or age related changes making you more susceptible to tendinopathys.
Symptoms:
Individuals with gluteal tendinopathy often experience:
- Sharp or aching pain on the outer side of the hip, especially when lying on the affected side.
- Pain during activities like walking, climbing stairs, or standing up after sitting.
- Tenderness over the greater trochanter.
- Pain that worsens with single-leg weight-bearing activities.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis is largely based off patient history and clinical assessment performed by health professionals such as GPs, physiotherapist or osteopaths. The combination of the history of the pain, functional movements, strength testing and orthopaedic testing can lead to a diagnosis of Gluteal Tendinopathy. Ultrasounds or MRI imaging can be utilised to confirm the diagnosis as tendon changes can be seen through these images.
Treatment
The aim of treatment is to relieve pain, restore function and strength to the area and prevent reoccurrence. A combination of treatment techniques can be utilised.
Rehabilitation Exercises:
A cornerstone of treatment, exercise therapy aims to strengthen the gluteal muscles and improve tendon resilience. It is important that you get a target and progressive rehabilitation program from a health professional such as a physiotherapist to prevent incorrect loading of the area. A systematic review highlighted that resistance training, particularly using weights or resistance bands, is more effective than bodyweight exercises alone.
2. Manual Therapy
Receiving hands of treatment from physiotherapist, osteopaths or myotherapist can help to reduce pain. This can allow those affected to move better and be able to progress theory rehabilitation further. Techniques such as deep tissue massage and mobilisation with movement can alleviate pain and improve hip function.
3. Activity Modification
Activity modification can help to alleviate pain. If certain activities are a common trigger for the pain they can be avoided or reduced for a period of time and then gradually reincorporated.
4 . Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Injections
PRP injections are an emerging treatment option that can be suggested if the tendinoapthy is not responding to the above treatments. Some studies suggest they may promote tendon healing by stimulating tissue repair processes. However, more research is needed to establish their efficacy and long-term benefits.
Prognosis
With appropriate treatment, most individuals recover from Gluteal Tendinopathy within 6 to 12 weeks. However, chronic cases may persist longer and require more intensive rehabilitation. Early intervention and adherence to rehabilitation protocols are key to preventing long-term disability.
If you are experiencing Gluteal Tendinopathy book in with one of our practitioners today. There are many different treatment options that can help to change your pain and get you back to the activities that you love!