The large bones that make up the hip joint serve as anchors for several muscles. Some of these muscles move down the thigh to the knee; others move across the abdomen or the buttocks. When overuse or injury stretches or tears the muscle fibers, the resulting injury is called a strain.

Causes
Most of the time, muscle strains in the hip area occur when a stretched muscle is forced to contract suddenly. A fall or direct blow to the muscle, overstretching and overuse can tear muscle fibers, resulting in a strain. The risk of muscle strain increases if you had a prior injury in the area, do not warm up properly before exercise or attempt to do too much too quickly. Strains may be mild, moderate or severe, depending on the extent of the injury.

Symptoms
Pain over the injured muscle is the most common symptom of a hip strain. Other signs include swelling and a loss of strength in the muscle.

Treatment
In general, treatment and rehabilitation aim to relieve pain, restore range of motion, and restore strength, in that order. RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) is the standard protocol for mild to moderate muscle strains. Gently massaging the area with ice to decrease swelling may help, as will taking aspirin or ibuprofen to ease the pain. Compression shorts or a wrap bandage may also be helpful. If walking causes pain, limit weightbearing and consider using crutches for the first day or two after the injury.

After the first few days, you can use heat therapy including hot soaks, heat lamps, or heating pads. Avoid the activity that caused the strain for 10 to 14 days. During that time, you can rebuild muscle strength and endurance with stretching and strengthening exercises. If the pain returns, stop and go back to easier activities that do not cause pain. Severe muscle strains may require a longer rehabilitation time.