Left Hip Pain and Frequent Urination: How Are They Linked?
Your overactive bladder and left hip pain are connected. Nagging hip pain and frequent bathroom breaks have to do with your pelvic floor and surrounding muscles.
As a pelvic floor physical therapist, I often see people who try to treat each problem individually. Understanding the connection between your hip and bladder can be what brings you lasting results.
Wait.. Why Is It My Left Hip?
Clinically we see it all the time. The left hip and bladder have a strong connection. There is a lot of speculation, but no definitive answer why specifically the left hip. Some theories include: the left side is where your colon lives, so there is often over crowding occurring. Another theory is that the left diaphragm (up into the rib cage) sits flatter than the right, so the left side of the pelvic floor mimics that same position. Whatever the “why” is doesn’t change the fact that we often see the left hip has a major influence with the bladder.
What Is Considered Frequent Urination?
Urinating more than about every 2 hours (this may fluctuate depending on how much you’re drinking). Or an average of 8x/day.
Nighttime bathroom breaks more than once per night
An urge to urinate when you know your bladder isn’t full
Keeping tabs on where the nearest bathroom is at all times
The Surprising Connection Between Your Hip and Bladder
Your Hip and Pelvic Floor Are Teammates
Pelvic floor muscles and deep hip muscles attach to the pelvis and work as a team to support the hip and bladder like a sling.
A deep muscle within the pelvis called the obturator internus stabilizes the hip and also helps with pelvic floor support.
If muscles of the hip get tight, guarded, weak, or have difficulty coordinating, it can directly affect how the pelvic floor and bladder respond. This can create hip pain while simultaneously creating bladder irritation.
Your bladder may be physically reacting to an overactive or overworked pelvic floor.
4 Ways Hip Problems Can Contribute to Frequent Urination
1. Tight Deep Hip Muscles Can Irritate the Pelvic Floor
The obturator internus is a hip muscle within the pelvis that helps rotate and stabilize the hip during walking, running, and single-leg activities. It often can cause pain in the deep gluteal area and can also be the culprit of “piriformis syndrome”
The hips and pelvic floor are best friends. So one may become tight when the other one is tight. Lack of mobility in the hips and pelvic floor can create muscle and fascial tension around the bladder resulting in bladder urgency, frequency, or pain.
2. Hip Pain Can Change the Way You Move
Pain can decrease natural movement in the pelvis and hips. This can create tension in the hips and pelvic floor due to guarding and protection mechanisms.
3. The Nervous System May Become More Sensitive
The persistent urge to go to the bathroom can excite the bladder, creating an overactive nervous “tic.” The bladder will start communicating “I need to go” when in reality it doesn’t.
Lack of movement and tension around the bladder and pelvic floor can create decreased blood flow to the nerves that communicate to the bladder
4. Shared Nerve Pathways
The pelvic floor, hip, and bladder share nerve pathways. The pudendal nerve is a common one, but there are many others within the pelvis that contribute.
Referred pain is a phrase used to describe areas that feel the pain but may not be irritated. The pelvic floor and hip can send signals to the bladder, causing urinary symptoms, but it’s actually a false alarm. Checking the surrounding muscles is crucial for appropriate treatment.
Signs Your Hip Pain May Be Related to Your Bladder Symptoms
You may benefit from a pelvic floor assessment if you notice:
Hip pain and urinary symptoms that started around the same time
Pain with exercising, intimacy, or bowel movements
Pain in the buttock region, lower abdomen, or groin
Negative urine culture but urinary frequency continues to be present
Check out our free pelvic floor checklist– if you struggle with any of the issues, pelvic floor PT may be your best option.
How Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Can Help
A pelvic floor PT can assess:
Hip strength
Hip mobility
Bladder mobility and irritation
Pelvic floor mobility
Pelvic floor tension and strength
Lifestyle factors influencing hip and bladder irritation
Treatment May Include:
Manual therapy
Pelvic floor muscle relaxation techniques
Hip mobility exercises
Strengthening programs
Bladder retraining strategies
Nervous system down-training
Education on bladder habits and lifestyle factors
When to See a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist:
You should consider seeing a pelvic floor physical therapist if:
The hip pain isn’t improving after 2 weeks
Urinary frequency doesn’t seem to resolve and is affecting your daily life
You’ve been told things seem “normal”, but they still persist
You want to prevent long-term issues before they become chronic
You stopped exercising because of symptoms
Symptoms return every time you try to be active
If you’re wondering how my “left hip pain and frequent urination” are linked and if there’s a solution, you are definitely not alone.
Pelvic floor physical therapy can help you get back to the things you love without hip pain or urinary symptoms holding you back.
Revive Rehab in Columbia, Missouri, is a pelvic health practice that specializes in pregnancy and postpartum care.
If you are in the Columbia, Jefferson City, Fulton, Boonville, or mid-Missouri area, we’d love to work with you! Click here to learn more about our in-person services.
We offer hour-long, one-on-one, individualized appointments with a physical therapist to get to the root cause of your concerns. We provide a holistic approach for your care. Click the link below if you’d like to book an appointment with us, we’d love to help you on your postpartum journey!
Written by: Sarah Miller, PT, DPT
