7 Best Exercises For Gluteal Tendinopathy And What To Avoid

Gluteal tendinopathy, often referred to as “gluteal tendinitis,” is a painful condition that affects the gluteal tendons of the gluteal muscles. This irritation of the tendons can lead to chronic pain, especially during activities like walking, climbing stairs, or prolonged sitting.

If you’ve been dealing with persistent pain on the outside of your hip—especially when walking, climbing stairs, or lying on your side—you may be experiencing gluteal tendinopathy.

This condition is one of the most common causes of lateral hip pain, yet it’s often misunderstood and treated incorrectly. Many people try stretching or pushing through pain, which can actually make symptoms worse.

The good news is that with the right approach—focused on progressive strengthening, proper load management, and avoiding aggravating movements—you can significantly reduce pain and return to normal activity.

In this complete guide, you’ll learn:

• How to reduce pain when lying down or walking
• The best exercises for gluteal tendinopathy
• A step-by-step rehab plan
• What to avoid (critical for recovery)
• How long recovery takes
• How to safely progress your rehab

What Is The Best Exercise For Gluteal Tendinopathy?

The best exercises are low-pain, progressive strengthening movements like:

• Glute bridges
• Single-leg stance
• Side-lying hip abduction

These improve hip stability and gradually load the tendon without worsening symptoms.

Who This Guide Is For

This guide is for you if:

• Hip bursitis
• You have pain on the outside of your hip
• Pain worsens when walking, sitting, or lying on your side
• You’ve been told you have:
  • Gluteal tendinopathy
  • Greater trochanteric pain syndrome

Start Here: Simple Plan to Reduce Pain

If your hip pain is currently irritated, don’t jump straight into all 7 exercises. Start with a few key movements and build gradually.

Begin with these 3 exercises:

• Glute Bridge
• Single Leg Stance
• Sidelying Hip Abduction

Perform these once per day for 2–3 sets.

Pain guideline:

• Keep pain at or below 3/10 during exercise
• Mild discomfort is okay, but sharp or worsening pain is a sign to stop or modify

When to progress:

• Once these exercises feel easier and your pain is improving, you can begin adding more dynamic movements like lunges and single leg deadlifts.

Important:
Consistency matters more than intensity. Most people start noticing improvement within 2–4 weeks when performing the right exercises regularly.

What Causes Gluteal Tendinopathy?

This condition is usually caused by overload + poor hip stability, not a single injury.

Common causes:

• Weak gluteus medius/minimus
• Sudden increase in activity
• Prolonged sitting
• Poor movement mechanics (hip drop)

It’s not just inflammation—it’s a load management problem

How Long Does Gluteal Tendinopathy Take To Heal?

Most cases improve within 6–12 weeks, but it depends on severity.

Typical timeline:

• Mild: 4–6 weeks
• Moderate: 6–12 weeks
• Chronic: 3–6 months

What speeds it up:

• Consistent exercise
• Avoiding painful compression
• Gradual progression

What slows it down:

• Skipping strengthening
• Doing too much too soon
• Ignoring pain

Why Does My Hip Hurt When Lying on My Side?

This is one of the most common symptoms.

When you lie on your side, your body weight compresses the tendon, causing irritation.

How to reduce pain:

• Change positions regularly
• Use a pillow between knees
• Avoid lying on painful side

Isometric Exercises for Pain Relief (Best Starting Point if Pain Is High)

If your pain is too intense for movement-based exercises, start with isometric exercises.

These activate the muscles without moving the joint, which helps reduce pain while maintaining strength.

Examples:

• Glute bridge hold
• Hip abduction hold
• Wall press

How to perform:

• Hold for 10–30 seconds
• Perform 3–5 sets
• Keep pain ≤ 3/10

As pain improves, transition to movement-based exercises.

Gluteal Tendinopathy Treatment

Treatment of gluteal tendinopathy should focus on strengthening the gluteal muscles and and overall stability of the hip. These 7 exercises help improve muscle function, reduce pain, and prevent further injury. Although activity modification of physical activities and corticosteroid injections are typically used to treat gluteal tendinopathy, physical therapy plays a crucial role in decreasing pain and improving muscle function.

Physical Therapy Exercises

The best physical therapy exercises to treat gluteal tendinopathy include simple exercises focused on glute and hip strengthening. These are the 7 most effective strengthening exercises to incorporate into your exercise program.

A physical therapist will be able to evaluate you and give you specific exercises that are right for you. These are general physical therapy exercises for gluteal tendinopathy. The following exercises are 1. Single Leg Deadlift 2. Glute Bridge 3. Single Leg Stance 4. Sidelying Hip Abduction 5. Lateral Lunge 6. Clamshell 7. Mini Squat With Band.

1. Single Leg Deadlift

• One of the best exercises for long-term recovery and prevention.
• How to perform:
  • Stand on one leg
  • Slight bend in knee
  • Hinge at hips, lowering torso forward
  • Keep back straight
  • Return to upright
• Reps & sets:
  • 2–3 sets of 8–10 reps
• Key cues:
  • Hinge, don’t bend forward
  • Keep hips level
• Beginner option:
  • Use a kickstand stance
• Common mistakes:
  • Rounding the back
  • Losing balance or performing the exercise too quickly without control

2. Glute Bridge

• The glute bridge is one of the best exercises to start with because it activates the glutes without placing excessive compression on the tendon.
• How to perform:
  • Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor with your feet about hip-width apart
• Gently tighten your core
• Push through your heels and lift your hips toward the ceiling
• Squeeze your glutes at the top
• Lower your hips slowly back down
• Reps & sets:
  • 2–3 sets of 8–12 reps
  • OR hold for 5–10 seconds
• Key cues:
  • Think: “push through heels, squeeze glutes”
  • Don’t arch your back
• Common mistakes:
  • Arching the lower back instead of using glutes
  • Pushing through toes instead of heels

3. Single Leg Stance

• This exercise will improve your balance and hip stability, which are crucial for daily activities it mimics walking and daily movement.
• How to perform:
  • Stand upright with feet hip-width apart
  • Lift one foot off the ground
  • Slightly bend your standing knee
  • Keep your pelvis level (don’t let hip drop)
  • Hold the position
• Duration:
  • Hold 20–30 seconds
  • Repeat 2–3 times each side
• Key cues:
  • Keep hips level
  • Stay tall, avoid leaning to one side
• Progressions:
  • Close your eyes
  • Stand on a soft or unstable surface
• Common mistakes:
  • Hip dropping to one side
  • Gripping with toes instead of stabilizing through hip

4. Sidelying Hip Abduction

• Targets the gluteus medius, the most important muscle in treating gluteal tendinopathy
• How to perform:
  • Lie on your side with the painful side on top
  • Keep bottom leg bent, top leg straight
  • Move your top leg slightly behind your body
  • Lift your leg upward slowly
  • Lower with control
• Reps & sets:
  • 2–3 sets of 10–15 reps
• Key cues:
  • Toes slightly down
  • Lift from the hip, not the lower back
• Common mistakes:
  • Letting the leg drift forward
  • Using momentum instead of control
• After a few repetitions you will feels your upper leg or hip begin to get tired.
  • Muscle fatigue is ok but if it is painful then you should perform an isometric hip abduction exercise as explained at the bottom of the post.

5. Lateral Lunge

• Prepares your body for real-life movements.
• How to perform:
• Stand tall with feet together
• Step out to one side
• Bend that knee while keeping opposite leg straight
• Push back to starting position
• Reps & sets:
• 2–3 sets of 8–10 reps each side
• Key cues:
• Sit hips back
• Keep chest up
• Common mistakes:
• Letting knee collapse inward
• Going too deep too early

6. Sidelying Clamshell

• A beginner-friendly way to activate the glutes with minimal strain.
• How to perform:
  • Lie on your side with knees bent to 90°
  • Stack hips and shoulders
  • Keep feet together
  • Lift your top knee upward
  • Lower slowly
• Reps & sets:
  • 2–3 sets of 12–15 reps
• Key cues:
  • Keep pelvis still
  • Move only the hip
• Common mistakes:
  • Rolling backward
  • Using momentum

7. Mini Squat With Hip Abduction

• How to perform:
  • Place a resistance band above knees
  • Stand with feet shoulder-width apart
  • Lower your body by bending your knees as if sitting back into a chair.
  • Push knees outward into the band
  • Return to standing
• Reps & sets:
  • 2–3 sets of 10–15 reps
• Key cues:
  • Knees track over toes
  • Chest stays upright
• Common mistakes:
  • Knees collapsing inward
  • Squatting too deep too soon

Gluteal Tendinopathy Exercises To Avoid At All Costs

There are specific exercises and movements that should be avoided at all costs when in the early stages of gluteal tendinopathy. These include:

• High impact activities such as running and jumping
• Painful activities
  • Some of these gluteal tendinopathy exercises may be too painful for you in the early stages of your injury.
    • If this is the case then you will need to decrease the compressive forces and perform isometric exercises instead.
• Glute stretches
• Deep squats
  • Although deep squats are great exercises for building muscle strength in the gluteus maximus and other glute muscles, it places excessive stress on the glute tendons.

What Are Examples of Isotonic Exercises vs. Isometric Exercises For Gluteal Tendinopathy?

Isotonic exercises are characterized as exercises that for you to resist weight or bodyweight over a range of motion. All of the previous 7 gluteal tendinopathy exercises are considered isotonic exercises. More examples of isotonic exercises include squats, lunges, biceps curls and push ups.

Isometric exercises are characterized as stressing the muscle in a static position, meaning the joint does not move.

Examples of isometric exercises are isometric hip abduction or hip adduction. This would be performed by playing a pillow or resistance on the outside of your hip or in between your legs and pushing into the resistance. Although your hip joint will not actually move, you will still be activating the muscles.

What Is Gluteal Tendinopathy?

Gluteal tendinopathy, previously known as greater trochanteric pain syndrome or greater trochanteric bursitis, is pain on the outside of your hip. This is due to inflammation of the tendons in the gluteal muscles, specifically the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus tendons.

These tendons are essential for stabilizing the hip and pelvis during activities such as walking, running, and climbing stairs. When there is a tendon injury to these tendons, it can lead to chronic hip pain and reduced function in the hip and gluteal region.

Gluteal Tendinopathy Symptoms

The most common gluteal tendinopathy symptoms are:

• Hip Pain or lower back pain
  • Pain on the outer side of the hip
  • Will typically worsen with activity or prolonged sitting.
• Stiffness
  • Reduced range of motion in the hip joint, most noticeable in hip flexion or hip bending.
• Weakness
  • Decreased strength in the hip and leg muscles, leading to instability.

Need Help With Your Recovery?

Still struggling with gluteal pain while returning to activity? I offer virtual coaching sessions to help active adults recover from injuries.

Summary

You will achieve significant improvement in your gluteal tendinopathy symptoms by focusing on hip strengthening, stability, and functional exercises. Your recovery time will depend on the severity of your symptoms, but this home exercise program will get you on track to a speedy recovery.

For best results, consult with a physical therapist or healthcare provider who can offer personalized recommendations and adjustments to your plan of care. If you are looking for more hip exercises you can find them at 9 Powerful Exercises For Hip Instability Treatment.