Fix Hip Pain When Standing Up From Sitting (3 Exercises)

By Grant Frost · Physiotherapist • Last clinically reviewed: 06 April 2026

Does your hip hurt when getting up from sitting on a chair? If it does, this article is for you. We'll explore why that might be happening and give you three things you can do to try and make that pain go away.

Why Your Hip Hurts When Standing Up

If getting up from a chair consistently makes the front of your hip feel sore, the first thing we need to figure out is whether it's actually your hip that's the problem.

Clinically, you can absolutely have specific pain or discomfort at the front of your hip when you get up from a chair. But the reason why that may actually be there could in some way be due to lower back dysfunction. Anatomically, one of the main hip flexors that crosses the front of the hip anchors into the front of the lower back. And mechanically, if there is some subtle lower back dysfunction, that can prompt your hip flexors or any tissue through the front of that hip to be tighter and more restricted than it otherwise would be.

Sitting itself is quite a taxing position to be in for your lower back and your hips. Not only are we often stuck in this same sort of 90-degree seated position, but it can be very easy for us to relax and slouch or sink through that lower back, ultimately loading it up with the net result potentially being dysfunction at the front of the hip.

The Test-Retest Method: Find What Works for You

To figure out what is genuinely important for you to do to solve this problem long term, it's important that we're very results-based. You don't have to guess, you don't have to trust me, and you can factually figure out what you need to do to feel better.

The best way to figure this out is to do a test and a retest before and after each one of these exercises to see which one has the biggest impact on your symptoms. The obvious test here is to legitimately just sit down for a little bit and then stand up, see how you feel. If you need to walk around a little bit to expose how that hip feels, please do that. It's important that we do this before and after each exercise to rule in or rule out or at the very least emphasise which part of your body is the underlying cause of this dysfunction.

Exercise 1: Lower Back Ball Mobility

We want to explore what role hidden lower back dysfunction, tightness, stiffness, and restrictions are having on the function of the front of your hip.

Using a foam roller or a lacrosse ball are by far the most accurate and most specific ways to self-diagnose and self-treat hidden back dysfunction. Because ultimately what we're looking for when we're trying to solve hip pain that comes on from sitting to standing is we want to go looking through the individual segments and joints of your mid to lower back to look for anything that feels tight, stiff, restricted, especially when compared to the other side.

How to perform:

• Start at the base of your rib cage, almost in the middle of your back.
• Place the ball right next to the spine, on the fleshy part.
• Lie down on the ball (or lean against a wall).
• Spend time on the spots that feel the most stiff, tight, and restricted when compared to the other side.
• Does the ball sink in easier on one side? Spend time on the side that doesn't sink in as well.
• Spend 30-60 seconds here, trying to give this tissue a chance to relax and soften.
• Systematically work your way down your spine, moving an inch or so at a time.

Clinically, there is a very good chance that if you are experiencing pain in your hip when you get up from sitting, you will have some sense of hidden dysfunction through there. When you free that up successfully, you should immediately feel some sense of improvement when you stand up from sitting.

If freeing up your back made the front of your hip feel better, the next question is: why is that part of your back a problem in the first place? Typically, the main reason may have everything to do with the position that you put your back into while you're sitting. Whether you slouch, lean forward, or have a hinge point with a twist, not only do we need to free up your back, but we may need to rearrange your environment or improve your awareness of being in better, more consistent shapes.

Exercise 2: Banded Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch

We now need to figure out what role your hip is having on your hip dysfunction. While there's a lot of soft tissue and capsular tissue at the front of that hip that could be contributing, there's one exercise that can capture all of that at the same time.

How to perform:

• Attach a band to something sturdy and hook it up into the gluteal fold just underneath your butt cheek.
• Kneel in front of the band (use a pillow or towel under your knee if needed).
• Take as much tension on the band as feels comfortable, so it's pulling your hip open from the front.
• Stay tall, squeeze your glutes, keep your trunk vertical, and lunge back towards the band to open up the front of your hip into extension.
• Experiment with angles - foot further out or in, different directions - to find what gives you the best access to your restriction.
• Once you find it, use a contract-relax (PNF) technique: tense the tight area for 5-10 seconds, then relax and move deeper into the stretch. Repeat until you stop making progress.

Advanced variation (modified couch stretch with band): Place your knee into the corner of a chair with your shin vertical. From a high kneeling position, come back into the same shape as the kneeling hip flexor stretch. With your knee bent, you may find it feels much tighter. Use the same contract-relax technique.

Exercise 3: Banded Hip Capsule Stretch (Posterior)

We want to go looking for tissue restrictions at the back of the hip to see if restrictions here are asking the front tissue to impinge or become dysfunctional when you stand up.

How to perform:

• Place the band in the top of your hip crease, but this time have the band pulling side-on at 90 degrees.
• Get on all fours with the band pulling to the side.
• Take your opposite leg back.
• For the external rotation version, rotate your affected side underneath and drop your other knee down to block.
• Keeping your shoulders and hips integrated together, gently shift your whole body weight back towards the band, imagining your thigh bone pressing out the back side of your hip.
• Your trunk stays level with the ground - don't let your hips drop down.
• Hang out here for 60 seconds to 2 minutes, hunting around for what feels the most relevant tightness. You can oscillate in and out to encourage the tissue to mobilise.

As always, immediately after doing this, stand up, walk around, and see if your hip pain immediately feels better.

The Role of Sitting Posture

If you get up from a chair and your hip consistently hurts, please appreciate that it is absolutely a hip discomfort, but the cause of that may come back to something to do with your lower back. And it may actually have a lot to do with how you're sitting while you're sitting.

Obviously, if you don't have to sit, please don't. Your best position is always your next position. Spending less time sitting can be a great way to decrease the chances of this type of thing coming back again. And because it's not always practical to replace all of your sitting with standing, when you do sit, it is important to pay attention to what impact that may be having on your lower back and the front of your hip.

Video Transcript with Timestamps

Struggling With Hip Pain When Standing Up?

If you'd like help figuring this out in real time with recommendations specific to you and your symptoms, consider booking an online Telehealth consultation with Grant. Learn more about our hip pain physiotherapy services in Port Macquarie.

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