Hip & Thigh

What It Is

Snapping hip syndrome is often referred to as dancer's hip. In this condition, you hear a snapping sound or feel a snapping in your hip when you walk, get up from a chair or swing your leg around (AAOS, n.d.). For most people the condition is more annoying than anything, and it is usually painless and harmless (AAOS, n.d.). For athletes and dancers, it can cause pain and weakness that interfere with performance (Lewis, 2010).

The snapping can happen in different places around the hip. Snapping on the outside of the hip is the most common, caused by the iliotibial band flicking across the greater trochanter (AAOS, n.d.).

A lot of hips pop, click and snap. The hip is a mobile joint, and lots of tendons and muscles pass around it, so a painless click is common. However, if the click is painful, or your hip catches or locks, see a doctor, as tears in the cartilage of the hip joint (the labrum) can cause similar symptoms (AAOS, n.d.).

Snapping Hip Syndrome Anatomy

The hip is a ball and socket joint connecting the thigh bone (femur) to the pelvis socket. The upper leg bone has two protrusions on it, known as the greater trochanter and lesser trochanter. The greater trochanter is where several muscles from the buttocks attach to help move the leg out to the side.

Along the outside of your leg you have a tight fibrous band known as the iliotibial band. When the hip bends, it moves across the greater trochanter, which creates the snap (AAOS, n.d.).

There are also muscles that flex your hip (lift your leg up), including the iliopsoas and the rectus femoris. Their tendons can catch on bony areas at the front of the hip and cause a snapping feeling (AAOS, n.d.).

Snapping hip is a rubbing of the muscle or tendon over the bone. Small sacs of fluid called bursae help the muscles move smoothly over the bone. Repeated snapping can lead to an inflamed bursa, which is known as bursitis (AAOS, n.d.).

Not a diagnosis — for more information, contact me or another trusted healthcare provider.

Treatment

Self-Care & Treatment

How to Treat Snapping Hip Syndrome

Exercises to stretch and strengthen the muscles around the hip can help, and most cases settle with this kind of conservative care (AAOS, n.d.; Lewis, 2010). I can guide you through a stretching and strengthening programme, with hands-on work for the tight muscles around your hip. See the My Approach tab for how I work.

1. Reduce Activities that May be Causing the Problem

One of the best and easiest things you can do is reduce your activity level and modify activities that cause pain (AAOS, n.d.).

2. Ice

An ice pack (or bag of frozen peas) in a towel can be put on the painful area for up to 20 minutes every 2 to 3 hours (NHS, 2025).

3. Anti-Inflammatory Medication

AAOS says anti-inflammatory medicines such as naproxen or ibuprofen can reduce discomfort (AAOS, n.d.). (This medicine information comes from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), not from me. Always check with a pharmacist or your family doctor or nurse practitioner before taking any medicine.)

Treatments you may want to discuss with your family doctor or nurse practitioner

Options outside my scope

Corticosteroid injection: if you have hip bursitis, a doctor may suggest an injection of a corticosteroid into the bursa to reduce painful inflammation (AAOS, n.d.).
Surgery: in rare cases where snapping hip does not respond to other treatment, keyhole surgery may be considered (AAOS, n.d.).

How I can help (see the My Approach tab)

Hands-on work for the tight muscles and tissue around the hip
A stretching and strengthening programme for the hip
Advice on changing your training and activities

Tips

People who do sports or activities with a lot of repeated bending at the hip are more likely to have snapping hip, and young athletes are more likely to have it during growth spurts (AAOS, n.d.).
Dancers are especially vulnerable (AAOS, n.d.), so make sure to take time to rest and recover.
Modify your activities to avoid repetitive hip movements, for example swim using only your arms or spend less time on a bicycle (AAOS, n.d.).
A painless click is common and usually harmless, but painful clicking, catching or locking should be checked by a doctor (AAOS, n.d.).

Treatment

My Approach

Snapping hip is usually a muscle or tendon flicking over a bony point as the hip moves. When it's painless, it's usually harmless. When it hurts or gets in the way of your sport or dancing, my aim is to ease the tight tissue that's catching, calm any irritation, and build strength and control around the hip so it moves smoothly again.

I start by assessing where the snapping happens (the outside or the front of the hip), how your hip and low back move, the strength and flexibility of the muscles around them, and how you walk, run or dance. If the click is painful and your hip catches or locks, I'll ask you to see a doctor first, as this can come from a problem inside the joint.

Easing the Snapping

Hands-on work for the tissue that catches: the IT band and the muscles that pull on it, the hip flexors at the front, and the buttock muscles
Myofascial work, skin rolling and trigger point work, keeping pressure off any sore, irritated spot on the side of the hip
Warm or cool applications in the clinic, and I'll show you how to use ice safely at home
Changing the activities that bring it on for now, rather than stopping everything

Building Strength and Control

Stretches for the IT band, hip flexors and buttock muscles, chosen to suit you
Strengthening for the hips and trunk, starting with bridges, clams and side-lying leg lifts, building to single-leg balance, step-ups, lunges and squats
Gym-based strength work when you're ready, drawing on my years working with powerlifters
A home programme between visits, and a gradual return to running, dancing or sport
Advice on training and technique, especially for activities with a lot of repeated hip bending

Any work on the buttock, hip or groin area needs your informed consent and a signed consent form.

What to Expect

Typical Course

Typical course: Most people come once or twice a week at first, then weekly, then every few weeks as you take over the home programme, with a reassessment at about 6 weeks. Usually the pain settles over several weeks to a few months.

What I Focus On

Assessment

Hip & IT Band Release

Targeted Stretching

Hip Strength & Control

Return to Activity

Please read

When to See a Doctor First

When to Get Help

Call 911 or go to the emergency room at your nearest hospital if you have severe hip pain after a fall or injury, cannot walk or put weight on your leg, or have tingling or loss of feeling in your hip or leg after an injury (NHS, 2025).
See a doctor if your hip is painful, catches or locks, or you still have discomfort after trying the self-care below (AAOS, n.d.).

Sources

References

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (n.d.) Snapping hip. OrthoInfo. Available at: https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases--conditions/snapping-hip/ (Accessed: 7 October 2026).
Lewis, C.L. (2010) 'Extra-articular snapping hip: a literature review', Sports Health, 2(3), pp. 186–190. doi: 10.1177/1941738109357298. Available at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3445103/ (Accessed: 7 October 2026).
NHS (2025) Hip pain in adults. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/hip-pain/ (Accessed: 7 October 2026).

Massage therapy · Kitchener–WaterlooSnapping Hip Syndrome

What It Is

Snapping Hip Syndrome Anatomy

Self-Care & Treatment

How to Treat Snapping Hip Syndrome

1. Reduce Activities that May be Causing the Problem

2. Ice

3. Anti-Inflammatory Medication

Treatments you may want to discuss with your family doctor or nurse practitioner

Tips

My Approach

Easing the Snapping

Building Strength and Control

Typical Course

When to See a Doctor First

When to Get Help

References

Related Conditions

Book a session

Massage therapy · Kitchener–WaterlooSnapping Hip Syndrome

What It Is

Snapping Hip Syndrome Anatomy

Self-Care & Treatment

How to Treat Snapping Hip Syndrome

1. Reduce Activities that May be Causing the Problem

2. Ice

3. Anti-Inflammatory Medication

Treatments you may want to discuss with your family doctor or nurse practitioner

Tips

My Approach

Easing the Snapping

Building Strength and Control

Typical Course

When to See a Doctor First

When to Get Help

References

Related Conditions

Adductor Tear

Adductor Tendinopathy

Biceps Femoris Tendinopathy

Femoroacetabular Impingement (FAI)

Book a session