Exercises & stretching
for hip labrum tears

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Benefits of exercise for hip labrum tears

If you have a hip labrum tear, it is normal to worry that movement will make things worse. For most people, the opposite is true, gentle, well-chosen exercise helps the hip feel steadier and less sensitive over time. Exercise supports the muscles around the hip and pelvis (especially the glutes and deep hip rotators), which can reduce joint stress during walking, stairs, and daily tasks.^1,4

Many labral tears also show up on imaging in people with no pain, so recovery is often less about “fixing” the scan and more about building strength, control, and confidence with movement.²

Effective exercises for hip labrum tears

Not every exercise is right for every person. If a movement causes sharp pain or new symptoms, stop and consult a medical provider.

1. Glute bridge

Why it helps: Helps support the hip by strengthening the glutes without putting the hip into deep bending.

How to do it: Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat. Squeeze your butt muscles and lift your hips a few inches, then slowly lower. Keep the movement smooth and pain-tolerable.

2. Side lying clamshells

Why it helps: Targets the side hip muscles that help control hip motion when you walk and climb stairs.⁴

How to do it: Lie on your side with knees bent and feet together. Keep your pelvis steady, then open the top knee like a book, and slowly return. You should feel the work in the side of your hip, not your low back.

3. Standing hip abduction (side leg lift)

Why it helps: Builds hip “stability muscles” that help the hip feel more supported in everyday life.

How to do it: Stand tall holding a counter for balance. Keep toes pointing forward and gently move one leg out to the side, then return slowly. Keep your trunk upright and avoid leaning.

4. Small range hip hinge (chair tap)

Why it helps: Practices a safer bending pattern that can reduce irritation from repeated deep hip flexion.

How to do it: Stand with feet hip-width apart. Push your hips back slightly (as if closing a car door), lightly tap a chair behind you, then stand back up. Keep the bend shallow and avoid twisting.

Helpful stretches for hip labrum tear

1. Figure-4 stretch

How it helps: May reduce buttock tightness and improve comfort with walking and standing.

How to do it: Cross one ankle over the opposite knee, creating a figure-4 shape with your legs. Gently press down on the knee and lean forward from your hips as far as comfortable, keeping your back straight. You should feel your hip and glute stretching.

2. Hamstring stretch

How it helps: Can reduce strain on the hip by improving the way your leg moves during walking.

How to do it: Stand tall and straighten one leg with heel on the floor, toes up. Hinge forward at the hips until you feel a gentle stretch in the back of the thigh.

Did you know?

Many hip labrum tears are found on MRI in people who have no hip pain, which is why the best exercise plan is guided by symptoms and function, not the scan alone.^2,6

Exercises to avoid with a hip labrum tear

These are common aggravators, not permanent “do not” lists. The goal is to keep movement tolerable, then build back up over time.

Deep squats and deep hip bends (especially if they cause front-of-hip pinching), deep flexion can increase stress in the hip joint in hip impingement patterns.¹
Twisting on a planted leg (pivoting, sharp direction changes), this can flare mechanical symptoms like catching or sharp groin pain.¹
Heavy loaded leg presses or deep lunges if they drive the hip into a painful pinch position, swap for smaller ranges first.⁴

Aggressive stretching into painful ranges, stretching should feel mild and relieving, not sharp or “jammed.”⁴

Clinical insight

International hip consensus guidance for femoroacetabular impingement syndrome supports starting with education plus exercise-based care, and using surgery later only when symptoms stay limiting despite a solid trial of structured rehabilitation.^1,4,5

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Footnotes

Griffin DR, et al. The Warwick Agreement on femoroacetabular impingement syndrome. Br J Sports Med. 2016. https://bjsm.bmj.com

Frank JM, et al. Prevalence of acetabular labral tears in asymptomatic hips. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2015. https://doi.org/10.2106/JBJS.N.01095

van Klij P, et al. Classifying cam morphology by alpha angle. Orthop J Sports Med. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/2325967120956280

Berrigan P, et al. Non-operative management of femoroacetabular impingement syndrome. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12178-023-09789-9

Griffin DR, et al. Hip arthroscopy versus best conservative care for femoroacetabular impingement syndrome. Lancet. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31202-9

Treskes K, et al. 3.0 T MRI for detecting acetabular labral tears. Eur J Med Res. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40001-022-00682-9

Pak SS, et al. Comparing Digital to Conventional Physical Therapy for Chronic Shoulder Pain: Randomized Controlled Trial. J Med Internet Res. 2023. https://doi.org/10.2196/49236