Hip clicking or snapping, called snapping hip syndrome or coxa saltans, usually comes from a tendon sliding over bone. The IT band snaps over the outside of the hip and the iliopsoas tendon snaps at the front. Snapping without pain is common and harmless. Clicking with sharp pain, catching or locking may signal a labral tear inside the joint.
A hip that clunks when you lift your leg or snaps when you walk can be unsettling, especially for dancers, runners and yoga lovers who feel it every day. Most snapping is harmless. The key is sorting out whether the noise comes from a tendon outside the joint or from damage inside it, because the treatments are very different.
Written and medically reviewed by Dr. Stride, MD, board-certified orthopedic surgeonThe iliotibial band or the front edge of the gluteus maximus slides back and forth over the greater trochanter on the side of the hip. When it is tight, it catches and snaps over the bone. Many people feel the hip is dislocating, but the joint is stable.
The clue: A snap on the outside of the hip that you can see or feel with a hand on the bony point is typical.
The iliopsoas tendon, the main hip flexor, can flip over a ridge of the pelvis or the front of the hip joint as the leg moves from a bent to a straight position. It often makes an audible clunk. It becomes a problem when the tendon gets irritated and painful.
The clue: A deep clunk in the groin when the bent leg is straightened from a frog-leg position, often heard across the room, points to the iliopsoas.
A torn flap of the labrum can catch between the ball and the socket. This causes a sharp click with pain rather than a harmless snap. It often comes with a deep groin ache between episodes.
The clue: A painful click or catch deep in the groin with pivoting, rather than a pain-free snap, suggests the labrum.
A small fragment of cartilage or bone can float inside the joint and get caught between the joint surfaces. This can cause true locking, where the hip briefly will not move. Loose bodies can damage cartilage over time.
The clue: Episodes where the hip locks and has to be wiggled free point to a loose body.
Occasionally the iliopsoas tendon rubs or catches on the edge of the new socket. This causes groin pain when lifting the leg, such as getting into a car. It can be treated with an injection around the tendon or, if needed, a tendon release.
The clue: Groin pain when lifting the leg after an otherwise successful hip replacement suggests iliopsoas irritation.
Dr. Stride asks you to reproduce the snap, because seeing and feeling it tells a great deal. For external snapping he places a hand over the greater trochanter while you bend and straighten the hip, or performs an Ober test to check IT band tightness. For internal snapping he moves your leg from a bent, turned-out position to straight while listening for the classic clunk. FADIR, FABER and log roll tests look for pain inside the joint, which suggests a labral tear or loose body. X-rays show the shape of the ball and socket. A dynamic ultrasound in the office can show the tendon snapping in real time, and an MRI or MR arthrogram is ordered when a labral tear or loose body is suspected.
“Bring your outside X-rays and MRI. I’ll go through them with you, but how your hip moves on the exam table tells me just as much as the pictures.”
Dr. Stride, MD
Snapping that doesn't hurt usually needs no treatment at all. Our team explains what causes it so you can keep running, dancing and lifting without worry.
Stretching the IT band and hip flexors, strengthening the glutes and core and changing how you move through certain positions resolve most painful tendon snapping in 6 to 12 weeks.
Temporarily cutting back on the specific movements that trigger snapping, such as high kicks, deep yoga openers or long hill runs, gives an irritated tendon time to settle.
A cortisone injection into the iliopsoas tendon sheath or the trochanteric bursa can calm a painful, inflamed tendon and help confirm the source.
When a labral tear or loose body causes painful catching or locking, or tendon snapping stays painful after several months of therapy, Dr. Stride can treat it through small incisions.
Hip popping without pain is usually harmless and does not damage the joint. It is often a tendon sliding over bone. Popping with sharp pain, catching or locking deserves an exam to check for a labral tear or loose body.
Popping at the front of the hip when lifting or lowering the leg is usually the iliopsoas tendon flipping over a ridge of the pelvis. This is internal snapping hip. It typically responds to stretching and strengthening.
Tendon snapping outside the joint does not cause arthritis. Snapping from a labral tear or loose body inside the joint can contribute to cartilage wear over time, which is one reason painful clicking deserves an evaluation.
Rarely. Most painful snapping improves with physical therapy and, at times, an injection. Arthroscopic surgery to lengthen the tendon or treat a labral tear is reserved for cases that remain painful after several months of good care.
Hip arthroscopy is an outpatient surgery that uses a small camera and slim instruments, placed through two or three small incisions, to treat problems inside the hip joint.
Read more →PreservationHip labral repair is an arthroscopic surgery that reattaches a torn labrum, the ring of cartilage around the hip socket, using small anchors.
Read more →Non-surgicalPhysical therapy helps many types of hip pain, including arthritis, gluteal tendinopathy, hip impingement and many labral tears.
Read more →DiagnosisHip X-rays and MRI answer different questions.
Read more →Front of hip and groin pain usually comes from inside the hip joint itself.
Causes & treatment →Hip pain · Outside of hipPain on the outside of the hip is most often greater trochanteric pain syndrome, an irritation of the gluteus medius and minimus tendons and the bursa over the bony point of the hip.
Causes & treatment →Hip pain · Back of hipPain in the back of the hip and buttock most often comes from the lower back, such as a pinched nerve or sciatica, or from the sacroiliac joint.
Causes & treatment →Hip pain · symptomHip joint pain is usually felt in the groin or front of the thigh and flares with putting on socks or getting out of a car.
Causes & treatment →Medically reviewed by Dr. Stride, MD against current guidance from these sources. Last reviewed October 2026. How we write and review content
