What causes my hip to click?

A hip that clicks can be unsettling, and online answers arrive with a confident label and a product to match.

Short answer: one described cause, not yours

Wikipedia describes a more common lateral extra-articular type of snapping hip syndrome that occurs when the iliotibial band, tensor fasciae latae, or gluteus medius tendon slides back and forth across the greater trochanter. That describes a mechanism in general, not your hip.

What goes with the click

Wikipedia adds that this may be accompanied by a snapping or popping noise and pain or discomfort. So a click and pain may travel together, and the pain is the detail to report. For wider reading, see the public health library's page on hip injuries and hip disorders and the pain management center of a consumer health site. Use them to build questions, not to settle the matter.

What to bring to your visit

Note when the click happens, such as walking, standing up or stairs, and whether it hurts. Tell a licensed clinician, in Totowa or wherever you are seen, and ask whether it needs follow-up. Ask what independent research supports any exercise or product suggested for it.

Our note on clicking hips

A click is a sound, and the sound alone does not say whether anything needs treating. Read this as background rather than a diagnosis, and only a licensed clinician can say what a click means for your hip.