Snapping hip syndrome is a condition in which you hear a snapping sound or feel a snapping sensation in your hip when you walk, run, get up from a chair, or swing your leg around. For some people like dancers or athletes this can cause pain and weakness that may interfere with performance.
Commonly the snapping is caused by the movement of a muscle or tendon over a bony structure in the hip.
The most common site is when the iliotibial band (ITB) passes over the greater trochanter. This is also known as external snapping hip syndrome. When you stand up straight, the band is behind the greater trochanter. When you bend your hip the band moves over and in front of the greater trochanter. This may cause the snapping noise. They may also experience some pain and tenderness on the outside of the hip. It often hurts to lie on this hip at night, and the pain may worsen over time.
Another site is the rectus femoris tendon, which moves back and forth across the hip joint when the hip is bent and straightened. Also the iliopsoas tendon, the tendon connecting your inner hip muscles to your thigh bone, moves over the pelvic bone. Both are known as internal snapping hip syndrome. People with internal snapping hip often experience symptoms that worsen over time. They may experience pain near the groin and can hear popping when they run.
Other symptoms you may experience with snapping hip syndrome include:
What can a biokineticist do for snapping hip syndrome?
Physical therapy with a biokineticist can help to loosen tension in the hip and strengthen and heal the muscles and tendons causing snapping hip syndrome for a safe return to sport and dance.
Biokineticists can also:
