While most people jump straight to clamshells and glute stretches:
Lateral hip pain is often a stability issue, not a โglute activationโ issue.
When the pelvis collapses into excessive hip adduction, the distal fibers of the glute med get compressed against the greater trochanter โ exactly the mechanism that irritates the tendon.
What you need is to restore the pelvisโ ability to stay LEVEL in the frontal plane.
What actually achieves this?
Not clamshells.
Not TFL/piriformis stretches.
Not banded squat acrobatics.
But rather:
โ Weight-bearing stability drills
โ Frontal plane control
โ Positions that MINIMIZE hip adduction and compression
โ Strength-building patterns that load the hip without overwhelming the tendon
If you want your clientโs lateral hip pain to improve, the strategy matters far more than the โgo-toโ drill.
๐ Want to know why clamshells and common glute stretches often make lateral hip pain WORSE โ and what to do instead?
My POV: Sounded smart โ until I realized you can pull with bad form too.
For years, the 2:1 or 3:1 pull-to-push ratio has been treated like gospel. The logic? Most people are anterior-chain dominant, so pulling more will magically โfixโ posture and prevent shoulder pain.
But hereโs the reality:
โก๏ธ Movement is behavior-based, not math-based.
โก๏ธ If someone pulls using the same dominant, compensatory patterns โ theyโre just reinforcing dysfunctionโฆ not correcting or preventing it.
Itโs not about how much you pull โ itโs about how you pull.
โ Remember: doing something wrong twice as often wonโt make it right.
๐ก Disclaimer: Context matters.
A pushโpull ratio can make sense for overall program balance, fatigue management, or addressing specific weaknesses โ as long as itโs applied with intention, not as a blanket rule.
Even when structural causes differ, most athletes with anterior hip pain share the same pattern:
๐น Decreased hip & trunk strength
๐น Poor control in adduction and knee valgus
๐น Loss of dynamic balance
๐น Excessive anterior hip joint forces due to weak glutes and hip flexors
The result? Persistent pain, poor load distribution, and movement compensations that keep the cycle alive.
The Solution:
Shift from mobility-only approaches to dynamic control:
โ Strengthen hip abductors, adductors, and extensors in non-impinged positions
โ Add rotational control work
โ Integrate lateral loading
โ Focus on how the hip manages torque, not just how far it moves
When you train control โ not just range โ you change how the hip shares load.
Thatโs how you move from reactive pain management to proactive movement rehab.
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The truth is, hip pain is an umbrella term. It can be adductor-related, inguinal-related, iliopsoas-related, pubic-related, or hip jointโrelated.
Missing that distinction means your treatment and/or your exercise selection โ will likely be off target.
Solution:
โ Localize where the pain is coming from.
โ Use tests like FADIR or Patrickโs test to differentiate hip vs SI vs adductor involvement
โ Once you know where the pain originates, you can direct your intervention precisely โ protecting the area while still loading what needs to be loaded.
Thatโs how you move from guessing to guiding your clientโs recovery.
This 16-week program was created to help you build a build a profitable, sustainable career on YOUR own terms.
You'll learn to attract premium clients, double your income with fewer hours, and deliver lasting results through structured rehab programming:
๐ขCreates lasting results with structured, progressive rehab programming
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BUT you must be on the VIP list to get early access - this particular combo is in (very) limited quantity
๐ฏ Sign up to the VIP list now before you miss your chance (list closes November 19th at 11:59pm)!
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Mai-Linh Dovan is a Certified Athletic Therapist and leading industry expert in functional rehabilitation. She holds a Bachelorโs degree in Athletic Therapy and a Masterโs degree in Exercise Science from Concordia University, where she worked in collaboration with the Department of Psychology and the Centre for Research in Human Development. With over 20 years of experience in clinical rehabilitation and strength and conditioning, she has developed a comprehensive and unique functional training approach with integrated rehabilitation.
She uses this approach with a diversity of athletes and clients from bodybuilders, powerlifters, CrossFit athletes, as well as athletes from many sports and recreational lifters struggling with various problems: recovery from cervical and thoracic fractures, low back and shoulder dysfunction, dysfunctional movement patterns. It has led many to unleash their full performance potential.
Mai-Linh is also the founder of Rehab-U | Movement and Performance Therapy, an online platform for innovative movement optimization and (p)rehabilitation tools and services for athletes and active individuals. The platform also serves as a resource for personal trainers, strength coaches, and fitness professionals.
It is using this innovative approach rooted in clinical strategies and geared towards prevention and performance, that Mai-Linh developed the Movement Optimization for Prehab and Performance Course. This course provides the principles to effectively assess and identify movement dysfunction as well as strategies, means and methods to build a rehabilitation- integrated intervention.
Dรฉcouvrez Mai
Mai-Linh Dovan est Thรฉrapeute du Sport agrรฉรฉe et une experte de l'industrie en matiรจre de rรฉadaptation fonctionnelle. Elle est titulaire dโun baccalaurรฉat en Thรฉrapie du sport et dโune maรฎtrise en Sciences de lโexercice de lโUniversitรฉ Concordia, oรน elle a travaillรฉ en collaboration avec le Dรฉpartement de psychologie et le Centre de recherche en dรฉveloppement humain. Forte de plus de 20 ans dโexpรฉrience en rรฉadaptation clinique et en entraรฎnement, elle a dรฉveloppรฉ une approche en entraรฎnement fonctionnel complรจte et unique avec rรฉadaptation intรฉgrรฉe.
Elle utilise cette approche avec une diversitรฉ d'athlรจtes et de clients tels que bodybuilders, dynamophiles, athlรจtes CrossFit, ainsi que des athlรจtes de nombreux sports et des gens actifs aux prises avec divers problรจmes. Cela a permis ร plusieurs de libรฉrer leur plein potentiel de performance.
Mai-Linh est รฉgalement la fondatrice de Rehab-U | Movement and Performance Therapy, une plateforme en ligne offrant des outils et services novateurs d'optimisation du mouvement et de (p) rรฉadaptation, destinรฉs aux athlรจtes et aux personnes actives. La plate-forme sert รฉgalement de ressource pour les kinรฉsiologues et professionnels de lโentraรฎnement.
Cโest en utilisant cette approche novatrice ancrรฉe dans des stratรฉgies cliniques et axรฉe sur la prรฉvention et la performance que Mai-Linh a dรฉveloppรฉ le cours ยซ Optimisation du mouvement pour la prehab et la performance ยป. Ce cours enseigne les principes permettant d'รฉvaluer et d'identifier de faรงon efficace les dysfonctions du mouvement, ainsi que des stratรฉgies, des moyens et des mรฉthodes permettant de mettre en place une intervention avec rรฉadaptation intรฉgrรฉe.
