The gluteus medius muscle is a very important muscle that assist with keeping our hips level while we walk.  It also pulls the leg out to the side into hip abduction. For various reasons the tendon that attaches this muscle to the hip (at the greater trochanter) can become painful.  If there is a specific incident with a sudden onset of pain, and the presence of inflammation we would categorize it as tendinitis. If there is no inflammation, and the injury has occurred over a period of time with an insidious onset, we would categorize it into a chronic condition, also known as tendinosis.  Tendinosis implies chronic changes to the tendon on the cellular level.  Impairements to the gluteus medius muscle usually presents with lateral hip pain. The history we take, along with our physical assessment will help us determine which condition it is more likely to be, and from there we can develop an individualized plan to rehabilitate the impaired tissues. 

Associated Symptoms:

• Lateral hip tenderness
• Hip pain when lying on the affected side
• Pain with walking
• Pain with lifting the leg to the side
• Pain with turning in bed
• Pain ascending stairs
• Pain sitting in a low seat (i.e. car)