My Hip Hurts When I Sleep on My Side. What Could It Mean?

You’re tired and you know that sleep should come easily, but it isn’t thanks to hip pain when you roll on your side. Nighttime hip pain is fairly common, and there are a number of reasons why this can occur.

To help you get to the bottom of your hip pain at night, the team here at Advanced Spine Care and Pain Management takes a closer look at the potential culprits behind your nighttime hip pain below. 

Why the hip pain at night?

Before we get into the possible causes of your hip pain, let’s take a look at why it’s flaring at night. First, let’s consider your sleeping position. If you prefer to sleep on your side, this places pressure directly on the outside of one of your hip joints, depending on which side.

Second, pain of all kinds seems to flare at night because the world around you is quieter, allowing the pain to be experienced without distraction.

Lastly, the odds are good that you’ve been on your feet or seated a good deal of the day, and both positions can place pressure on your hips, making them more sore at the end of the day.

Possible suspects for nighttime hip pain

The issue we want to focus on here is hip pain that crops up when you’re sleeping on your side, which helps us narrow down the potential suspects due to location.

Pain on the outside of your hip, as opposed to deep inside your hip or around the front of your hip, is often associated with:

Hip osteoarthritis 

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a condition in which the cartilage in your joint breaks down, leaving your bones to rub together. This can lead to pain and inflammation in your joint. While OA can affect any joint, it usually develops in those joints you use the most, such as your hips. Hip OA is fairly common, affecting an estimated 40 million people worldwide.

Hip bursitis

Your body contains about 150 bursae, which are small, fluid-filled sacs that reduce friction between bones. Your hip joints contain bursa sacs toward the outside and should they become inflamed, it can lead to bursitis and pain when you sleep on your side.

Soft tissue problems

Pain on the outside of your hip can be caused by inflammation in the tendons that connect your gluteal muscles to your hip bones. As well, if your iliotibial band, a long band of tissue that runs from your knee to your hip, is damaged or tight, it can lead to outer hip pain.

Spine issues

Pain in your hips may not be a problem within the joint, but an issue in your spine that’s radiating down into your hips.

As you can see, there are a wide range of potential problems that can lead to hip pain when you sleep on your side. 

The best way to figure out what’s causing your pain and to get a good night’s sleep is to schedule a comprehensive hip evaluation with us. To get started, please contact us at one of our offices in Staten Island or Hartsdale, New York.