What is the difference between hip bursitis and trochanteric bursitis?

The two names show up side by side in articles and charts, so you may wonder whether they describe two different problems.

Mostly one condition with two names

Cleveland Clinic explains that, technically, hip bursitis and trochanteric bursitis are the same condition.

The difference is one of scope. Trochanteric is a specific type of hip bursitis. In other words, trochanteric bursitis sits inside the larger hip bursitis label.

Where each name points

Cleveland Clinic describes trochanteric bursitis as the case where the bursa that cushions the greater trochanter part of your femur is swollen. It usually causes hip pain.

Hip bursitis can also affect the other bursa in your hip joint, the iliopsoas bursa near your groin. Cleveland Clinic says iliopsoas bursitis causes groin pain.

So the place where it hurts is a useful clue. Hip pain points toward the trochanteric type, and groin pain toward the iliopsoas type.

For the full description, see the Cleveland Clinic page on trochanteric bursitis. Another page explains bursitis in general, and a third covers hip bursitis.

Before you step back up

Note exactly where the pain sits, whether on the outer hip or near the groin, and bring that detail to a healthcare provider. A reader in Elmwood Park who can point to the spot gives the provider a faster start.

A page on hip pain in adults is a plain place to compare what you feel before you go.

A closing note on reading labels

When two names mean nearly the same thing, ask which one a source uses and what it points to. The label should tell you where the swelling is, not leave you more confused.