What Physical Therapists NEED to Know About Gluteal Tendinopathy

By dpope2020

December 5, 2025

dan pope, fitnesspainfree, glute med tendinopathy, glute med tendinopathy exercises, glute med tendinopathy rehab, gluteal tendinitis, gluteal tendinitis exercises, gluteal tendinopathy, gluteal tendinopathy diagnosis, gluteal tendinopathy exercises, gluteal tendinopathy rehabilitation, gluteal tendinopathy test, gluteal tendinopathy treatment, gluteal tendinosis, gluteus medius tendinopathy, hip pain, hip tendonitis, lateral hip pain, tendinopathy, trochanteric bursitis

What Physical Therapists NEED to Know About Gluteal Tendinopathy

To go along with today's video I have a nice infographic to share...

Sign up to receive FREE: Gluteal Tendinopathy "Cheat Sheet"

Click HERE to Download FREE

Grab the rest of the Mini Course and Sign up for the Specialist Pre-sale list:

In today's video we go over, What Physical Therapists NEED to Know About Gluteal Tendinopathy - FPF Show Episode 185:

  • 0:00 Introduction
  • 2:19 What exactly is gluteal tendinopathy?
  • 3:32 Is inflammation present in gluteal tendinopathy? Trochanteric bursitis?!?
  • 8:25 How common is gluteal tendinopathy?
  • 8:48 What are the most common populations to have gluteal tendinopathy?
  • 11:45 Does gluteal tendinopathy get better over time without intervention?
  • 17:44 What is the relevant anatomy in gluteal tendinopathy?
  • 21:13 What about gluteal tendon tears?
  • 29:17 Can gluteal tendon tears be treated conservatively?
  • 31:21 How does gluteal tendinopathy occur?
  • 35:23 What risk factors increase the likelihood of developing gluteal tendinopathy?
  • 48:02 What is the clinical presentation of gluteal tendinopathy?
  • 48:26 Where do these patients have pain and what activities tend to aggravate gluteal tendinopathy?
  • 51:18 What are the best clinical tests (special tests) to diagnose gluteal tendinopathy?
  • 56:02 Is imaging warranted for gluteal tendinopathy?
  • 57:55 What else presents similar to gluteal tendinopathy? [Differential Diagnosis]
  • 1:07:42 Radicular Lower Back Pain MASTER CLASS For Physical Therapists [Disc Herniation]

Fire the glutes up!!

- Dan Pope DPT,OCS,CSCS

Show Notes / Relevant Articles:

  1. Want to earn some CEUs for physical therapists, physical therapy assistants & ATCs for watching this content?  Click HERE to sign up for FPF "Insiders Academy" for just a dollar. You can earn CEUs for watching this content.  Plus, you'll gain access to over 14 MASTER courses, 50+ cheat sheets, 100+ webinars, e-books and complete guides.  You'll also get private access to the "Insiders Academy" community where you can have all of your questions answered by me.  

Looking for other ways to support me that are 100% free?

  • Like, comment and share on youtube, facebook and instagram 
  • Leave a 5-star review on apple podcasts

Thank you!

Dan Pope DPT, OCS, CSCS

References: 

  1. Bremer T, Nicklen P, Fearon A, Morrissey D. The efficacy of gluteal tendinopathy treatments: A systematic review. Clinical Rehabilitation. 2025;39(5):600-617. doi:10.1177/02692155251327298

  2. Grimaldi A, Mellor R, Nasser A, Vicenzino B, Hunter DJ. Current and future advances in practice: tendinopathies of the hip. Rheumatol Adv Pract. 2024 Apr 10;8(2):rkae022. doi: 10.1093/rap/rkae022. PMID: 38601140; PMCID: PMC11003818.

  3. Alison Grimaldi, Charlotte Ganderton, Anthony Nasser, Gluteal tendinopathy masterclass: Refuting the myths and engaging with the evidence, Musculoskeletal Science and Practice, Volume 76, 2025, 103253, ISSN 2468-7812, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msksp.2025.103253.

  4. Segal NA, Felson DT, Torner JC, et al. Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome: Epidemiology and Associated Factors. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 2007;88(8):988-92. doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2007.04.014.

  5. Sunil Kumar KH, Rawal J, Nakano N, Sarmento A, Khanduja V. Pathogenesis and Contemporary Diagnoses for Lateral Hip Pain: A Scoping Review. Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy : Official Journal of the ESSKA. 2021;29(8):2408-2416. doi:10.1007/s00167-020-06354-1.

  6. Mellor R, Bennell K, Grimaldi A, Nicolson P, Kasza J, Hodges P, Wajswelner H, Vicenzino B. Education plus exercise versus corticosteroid injection use versus a wait and see approach on global outcome and pain from gluteal tendinopathy: prospective, single blinded, randomised clinical trial. BMJ. 2018 May 2;361:k1662. doi: 10.1136/bmj.k1662. PMID: 29720374; PMCID: PMC5930290.

  7. Grimaldi A, Mellor R, Hodges P, et al. Gluteal Tendinopathy: A Review of Mechanisms, Assessment and Management. Sports Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.). 2015;45(8):1107-19. doi:10.1007/s40279-015-0336-5.

  8. Cowan RM, Ganderton CL, Cook J, Semciw AI, Long DM, Pizzari T. Does Menopausal Hormone Therapy, Exercise, or Both Improve Pain and Function in Postmenopausal Women With Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome? A 2 × 2 Factorial Randomized Clinical Trial. Am J Sports Med. 2022 Feb;50(2):515-525. doi: 10.1177/03635465211061142. Epub 2021 Dec 13. PMID: 34898293.

  9. Docking SI, Cook J, Chen S, Scarvell J, Cormick W, Smith P, Fearon A. Identification and differentiation of gluteus medius tendon pathology using ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging. Musculoskelet Sci Pract. 2019 Jun;41:1-5. doi: 10.1016/j.msksp.2019.01.011. Epub 2019 Feb 7. PMID: 30763889.

  10. Kinsella, Rita, et al. "Diagnostic accuracy of clinical tests for assessing greater trochanteric pain syndrome: a systematic review with meta-analysis." Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy 54.1 (2024): 26-49.

Images:

  1. Coxa Valga: Image source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Coxa-valga-norma-vara-000.png  Attribution: Addingrefs, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
  2. Trendelenburg: File: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Trendelenburg_gait.jpg Attribution: S. Bhimji, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
  3. Glute Med: Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Gluteus_medius_muscle.PNG   Attribution: Häggström, Mikael (2014). "Medical gallery of Mikael Häggström 2014". WikiJournal of Medicine 1 (2). DOI:10.15347/wjm/2014.008. ISSN 2002-4436. Public Domain.orBy Mikael Häggström, used with permission., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons  Edited by Fitness Pain Free LLC
  4. Glute Med: Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Gluteus_medius_muscle05.png   Attribution: Anatomography, CC BY-SA 2.1 JP <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.1/jp/deed.en>, via Wikimedia Commons Edited by Fitness Pain Free LLC
  5. Glute Min: Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Gluteus_minimus_muscle04.png Attribution: Anatomography, CC BY-SA 2.1 JP <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.1/jp/deed.en>, via Wikimedia Commons Edited by Fitness Pain Free LLC