Gluteal tendinopathy, also known as hip bursitis or Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome (GTPS) is a very common clinical presentation.
It has a prevalence of 10-15% and can affect 1 in 4 females over the age of 50.
A lot of people will present with various types of symptoms around this area from a dull ache around the outer area of the hip, to pain at night and during activity.
As a result, Gluteal tendinopathy can be a very debilitating disorder and can lead of other issues and clinical presentations.
The good news is that due to its prevalence, Gluteal tendinopathy is a well-researched area.
A recent study in Australia by Mellor, R et al. 2018 has been published comparing the effectiveness of three different treatment options in relation to in global hip improvement rating and pain levels.
These three treatment options were:
- Education about tendon load management and an associated exercise program
- A single Corticosteroid injection
- A wait and see approach
These three groups were measured in the short term (8 weeks) and in the longer term as well (52 weeks). At the eight-week mark, the success rates of each treatment option in relation to global hip improvement rating were:
- Education and exercise: 77.3%
- Corticosteroid injection: 58.5%
- Wait and see: 29.4%
This means that the exercise and education group noted more improvement in their hip function that any other group.
The other amazing thing about this result is that it had improved by 77%!
That is a fantastic result in such a short period of time. In relation to pain, the scores on average for each treatment option after 8 weeks were:
- Education and exercise: 1.5/10 (baseline score of: 4.8/10)
- Corticosteroid injection: 2.7/10 (baseline score of: 4.8/10)
- Wait and see: 3.8/10 (baseline score of: 4.9/10)
What we are seeing here is that the overall pain improvements over 8 weeks by the education and exercise group is also better than the other two treatment options, further reinforcing that Exercise and education is a superior treatment option in the short-term.
So what about the long term results?
This study also looked at these measures a whole year down the track from the initial intervention.
The results for all treatment options in regards to global hip improvement were:
- Education and exercise: 78.6%
- Corticosteroid injection: 58.3%
- Wait and see: 51.9%
And for pain:
- Education and exercise: 2.1/10 (baseline score of: 4.8/10)
- Corticosteroid injection: 2.3/10 (baseline score of: 4.8/10)
- Wait and see: 3.2/10 (baseline score of: 4.9/10)
So as you can see, over the course of the short term period of 8-weeks to a full year down the track, it is suggested that education and exercise is better than corticosteroid injections and the wait and see approach in order to improve overall function of the hip when presenting with gluteal tendinopathy.
At myPhysioSA, our physiotherapists are great at being able to diagnose Gluteal tendinopathy and can provide you with the information and exercise you need in order to help you achieve a fantastic outcome.
If you have any questions or would like some further information please do not hesitate to contact us on 1300 189 289 and ask to speak to one of our Physio’s.
We are more than happy to help.
Michael Wilson, myPhysioSA Senior Physiotherapist and SANFL Physiotherapist
Study reference:
BMJ 2018;360:k1662
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k1662
