How massage can help with hip and knee pain

What causes hip pain?

When your hips feel sore or tight, the pain often comes from knots in the muscles around your hips – especially the gluteus medius and minimus. Tension in these, as well as in the larger glute, piriformis, and lower back muscles, can cause pain that spreads to your lower back, buttocks, or even down your legs.

Can massage help hip pain?

If you're experiencing acute pain in your hip, it’s important to see your doctor to rule out sciatica (inflammation of the sciatic nerve) or arthritis. Even if you are diagnosed with one of these conditions, massage may still be able to provide some relief.

A good way to test if the cause of your aching hips is muscular is to use your fingertips to apply pressure to the buttocks and side of the hips. You’ll know if you come across any trigger points – another name for “knots” – as these spots will feel particularly tender. They may be quite deep, so prepare to get your knuckles involved.

If knots are the culprit, massage is a simple and effective treatment. Try a booking a deep tissue massage with a professional massage therapist who can get into between the fibers and into the layers of your muscles.

Massage works by bringing oxygen and nutrients to the muscles, as well as removing lactic acid. Your pro will use their hands, forearms and even elbows to warm the area, and apply pressure to achieve relief.

How to give a hip massage

If your hips are bothering you and you would like to achieve some instant relief, or you need a solution for in between massage appointments, you can try using a tennis ball or massage roller.

The following are the most targeted massage roller moves for the hips:

• Hip flexor: starting on all-fours over the roller, lengthen one leg out behind you to rest the hip on the roller, allowing the other knee to bend out to the side. Use your arms and bent leg to move your hip over the roller, breathing deeply in order to relax as far as possible.

• IT band: again starting on all-fours, lengthen one leg out behind you. This time keep your other knee upright and rotate your body towards it, so your outer hip rests on the roller. Move along this band, putting as much weight as you can stand onto the roller.

Both moves should be done for around 30 seconds, or until you feel the muscles start to loosen.

What type of massage is best for knee pain?

If your knee is hurting due to an injury, massage may be able to help speed up recovery time. Try a sports massage, which may be performed by a therapist with some additional physiotherapy experience. Always seek medical advice before starting any kind of massage therapy on a painful knee.

How to massage the knee joint

Joint pain in the knee is most commonly caused by osteoarthritis. There are a variety of self-massage techniques that you can use to assist with pain relief:

• Warm up the thigh: Using flat or cupped hands, make large, rough circles on the thigh, above the knee, making sure to rub both the front and back of the leg.

• Friction around knee cap: With the fingers and thumbs of both hands, make small taps and circles around the knee, pressing as hard as feels good.

• Calf squeeze: Cupping your hands around the back of the calf, as close to the ankle as you can manage, squeeze as tightly as you can. Move slowly up the leg, stopping to squeeze several times.

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*Depending on location.