Best Herbs for Hip Pain

Herbs for hip pain are one of the most researched natural alternatives to long-term NSAID use. Most people reach for ibuprofen by default, but for the kind of daily discomfort that gets you getting out of the car, stiffens your first steps in the morning, or keeps you up at night, taking an NSAID for months at a time carries a real cost. 

Long-term use is associated with gastrointestinal damage, kidney strain, and cardiovascular complications. Several herbs have a meaningful body of evidence behind them for the inflammation and joint wear that drive most hip pain, and our apothecary books cover how to use them at home. 

We'll cover the best herbs for hip pain, all backed by peer-reviewed research, then show you how to match each one to what's actually causing your hip pain.

What Causes Hip Pain?

The hip is a ball-and-socket joint, and it carries your body weight every time you stand, walk, or climb stairs. When something in or around that joint becomes inflamed or worn, you feel it constantly. The cause matters, because the herbs most likely to help depend on it.

Osteoarthritis is the most common cause of chronic hip pain. The cartilage cushioning the joint thins with age, friction increases, and the body responds with low-grade inflammation that accelerates further cartilage breakdown. Pain is typically deep in the groin or outer hip, worse after activity, with morning stiffness that eases as you move.

Bursitis and tendinitis involve inflammation of the soft tissue around the joint, the fluid-filled bursae or the tendons, usually from overuse or repetitive strain. Pain is often on the outer hip and tender to the touch. Herbal approaches for this pattern overlap with those for tendonitis.

Referred pain is hip pain that doesn't actually start in the hip. Pain radiating from the lower back or buttock into the hip and down the leg is usually a nerve issue rather than a joint one. If that sounds like your pain, our guide to herbs for sciatica covers that pattern.

Most herbs for hip pain work by reducing inflammation, which is why they're best suited to osteoarthritis, bursitis, and tendinitis rather than acute injury or referred nerve pain.

The Best Herbs For Hip Pain: Backed by Research

1. Turmeric

Best For: Osteoarthritis of the hip and general inflammatory hip pain. Pain type: Chronic, mild to moderate. Use case: Daily food or supplement; effects build over weeks rather than offering on-demand relief.

How It Works: Turmeric's active compound is curcumin, which reduces inflammation by blocking the COX-2 enzyme and suppressing NF-kB, the signalling molecule that switches on inflammatory genes in the joint. It also blocks the enzymes that break down cartilage, which makes it particularly useful for hip OA where cartilage loss is the core problem. It's one of the most studied anti-inflammatory herbs for any kind of joint pain. A systematic review of curcumin for osteoarthritis found it significantly reduced pain and improved joint function compared to placebo, performing comparably to low-dose NSAIDs in some trials.

How Best to Take It: Use turmeric as a herb in your cooking daily, but be aware that raw turmeric powder has very little curcumin in it, around 3% by weight, so it's not enough on its own for a therapeutic dose.

For a stronger effect, buy it as a concentrated turmeric supplement rather than relying on the spice alone. Always combine it with black pepper, which increases absorption by up to 2,000%, and take it with a meal that contains some fat since curcumin is fat-soluble. Most good supplements already include black pepper. Give it two to three months before deciding if it's working. 

At higher doses it can interact with blood thinners like warfarin and aspirin, so speak to your doctor first if you take any.

2. Boswellia (Indian Frankincense)

Best For: Hip osteoarthritis where both inflammation and cartilage loss are present. Pain type: Chronic, mild to moderate. Use case: Standardised supplement; results often appear within four to eight weeks, faster than most herbs here.

How It Works: Boswellia comes from the resin of the Boswellia serrata tree. Its active compounds, boswellic acids, block 5-LOX, the enzyme that produces leukotrienes. These are inflammatory chemicals that work differently to the ones NSAIDs target, so boswellia reduces inflammation through a pathway that turmeric and ginger don't fully cover. Boswellic acids also block two enzymes that break down cartilage, giving it both anti-inflammatory and cartilage-protective effects. Multiple randomised controlled trials support its use for osteoarthritis, with meaningful reductions in pain and improved physical function. Because hip and knee OA are mechanically similar, the joint evidence applies well to the hip.

How Best to Take It: Look for a standardised capsule listing boswellic acid content, ideally with AKBA (acetyl-11-keto-boswellic acid), the most potent compound. Studies typically use 300–500mg of boswellic acids or 100–250mg of AKBA per day. It pairs well with turmeric because the two work on different inflammatory pathways. Boswellia is generally well-tolerated; mild digestive discomfort is occasionally reported. Avoid during pregnancy and check with your doctor if you're on prescription medication.

3. Devil's Claw

Best For: Hip osteoarthritis. This is the herb with the most direct evidence for hip pain specifically. Pain type: Chronic, mild to moderate. Use case: Standardised supplement taken consistently over several weeks; not for on-demand relief.

How It Works: Devil's claw takes its name from the hooked fruit of the plant; the medicinal part is the root. Its active compound, harpagoside, inhibits COX-2, TNF-alpha, and NF-kB, three key drivers of inflammation in the joint. The mechanism overlaps with turmeric but works through different compounds, so the two can be safely combined. Most herb research groups everyone into a broad "joint pain" category, which is what makes one trial particularly relevant: a study of 227 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee or hip found devil's claw comparable to an NSAID (diacerein) for pain relief over eight weeks. Because it enrolled hip OA patients directly, it's some of the most specific evidence on this list.

How Best to Take It: The usual form is a capsule listing harpagoside content. Studies typically use doses providing around 50–100mg of harpagoside per day, and the effect builds over four to six weeks. Devil's claw can increase the effect of anticoagulants like warfarin and may lower blood sugar, so take care if you're managing diabetes. Avoid it if you have a peptic ulcer or gallstones, as it stimulates stomach acid and bile flow.

4. Ginger

Best For: Inflammatory hip pain, and hip pain with a muscle or soft-tissue component. Pain type: Both acute and chronic. Use case: Daily in food, drink, or supplement form; also useful during a flare.

How It Works: Ginger's active compounds, gingerols, block COX-2 like turmeric but also suppress COX-1 and leukotriene production, giving it a slightly broader anti-inflammatory reach. Studies in people with osteoarthritis show meaningful reductions in joint pain, including on standing, which matters for a weight-bearing joint like the hip.

How Best to Take It: Fresh ginger is higher in gingerols; dried ginger converts some of them to shogaols, which are more potent anti-inflammatories. Both work. A 2–4cm piece of fresh ginger brewed as tea or added to food covers a useful daily dose, and most studies use 1–3g per day, easily reached through food. For more consistency, a standardised supplement with around 5% gingerols is an option. Ginger and turmeric are safe to take together and cover more of the inflammatory cascade combined than either alone. At high doses, ginger has a mild blood-thinning effect, so use the same caution as turmeric if you're on anticoagulants. It can also lower blood sugar slightly.

5. Rose Hips

Best For: Hip osteoarthritis, particularly where cartilage support matters alongside inflammation. Pain type: Chronic. Use case: Daily powder mixed into food or steeped as tea.

How It Works: Rose hips are one of the few herbs with trial evidence drawn directly from hip OA patients. A meta-analysis of patients with osteoarthritis of the hip, knee, and wrist found rose hip powder reduced pain scores by roughly 30% compared to placebo and lowered the need for rescue pain medication. The active component is a galactolipid called GOPO, which appears to have both anti-inflammatory and cartilage-protective properties. Rose hips are also among the richest natural sources of vitamin C, which your body needs to make collagen, the main structural protein in cartilage. That gives them two angles on hip OA: reducing inflammation and supporting the cartilage itself.

How Best to Take It: The practical dose is around 5g of rose hip powder daily. It mixes easily into smoothies or oatmeal, or steeps as a tea, and has no significant safety concerns at this dose for most adults.

6. Willow Bark

Best For: Faster pain relief during flares, alongside slower-acting herbs. Pain type: Chronic, mild to moderate. Use case: Standardised extract; pairs well with turmeric and boswellia while those build to full effect.

How It Works: Willow bark contains salicin, which your body converts to salicylic acid, the same base compound behind aspirin. Think of it as a natural, slower-releasing version of aspirin. It also contains polyphenols and flavonoids that reduce inflammation through their own pathways. The most cited trial studied herbs for back pain rather than the hip, but it established willow bark as a genuine analgesic, with the high-dose group reporting improvement within the first week.

How Best to Take It: Turmeric, boswellia, and devil's claw take weeks to build up in your system. Willow bark can provide relief in the meantime while those slower herbs take effect. Look for a standardised extract listing salicin content; a practical range is 120–240mg of salicin per day. Avoid it if you have an aspirin sensitivity or salicylate allergy. It shouldn't be given to children or teenagers due to the risk of Reye's syndrome, it interacts with blood thinners, and combining it with NSAIDs raises gastrointestinal risk. Check with your doctor first if you have kidney disease or a peptic ulcer.

Topical Options For Hip Pain

The hip joint sits deep beneath muscle, so topicals reach it less directly than they do a surface joint like the knee. They're still useful for outer-hip pain from bursitis and tendinitis, where the inflamed tissue is closer to the surface.

• Capsaicin cream – The active compound from chili peppers. With repeated use it depletes substance P at local nerve endings, reducing their ability to transmit pain signals. Research on capsaicin for chronic musculoskeletal pain shows around a 50% reduction in pain with regular use. Apply three to four times daily; the initial burning sensation fades over the first week or two. Wash your hands after applying and keep it away from eyes and broken skin.
  

• Arnica – Its active compounds reduce local inflammation, and small studies have found arnica gel comparable to ibuprofen gel for hand and knee OA. Use it as a gel or cream for outer-hip soreness. Topical only, as oral arnica is toxic. Spot test first, since some people develop contact dermatitis.

• Comfrey root cream – A trial in knee OA found comfrey root extract cream reduced pain compared to a control cream. For topical use only; it contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids that can harm the liver if taken internally. Used externally as directed, it has a good safety profile.

Matching The Herb To Your Hip Pain

Not all hip pain has the same cause, and matching the herb to the cause is what makes the difference.

For osteoarthritis, the strongest combination is turmeric and boswellia, which work through different inflammatory pathways and can safely be taken together. Devil's claw is the standout single herb because of its direct hip OA trial evidence, and rose hips add cartilage support through vitamin C and GOPO. This pattern overlaps heavily with arthritis more broadly and with other weight-bearing joints like the knee.

For bursitis and tendinitis, the priority is calming soft-tissue inflammation. Ginger and turmeric taken internally, plus topical capsaicin or arnica on the tender outer hip, are the most practical approach. The same herbs apply to tendonitis elsewhere in the body.

For referred pain running from the lower back or buttock into the hip and down the leg, the issue is usually nerve-related rather than a joint problem, and anti-inflammatory herbs for the joint won't address it. Devil's claw and capsaicin have the most relevant evidence there.

Herb-Drug Interactions To Know Before You Start

• Blood thinners (warfarin, aspirin): Turmeric, ginger, willow bark, and devil's claw all have mild antiplatelet or anticoagulant effects. Taken alongside blood-thinning medication, they increase bleeding risk.

• Diabetes medication: Devil's claw and ginger can both lower blood sugar. Monitor your levels if you're managing diabetes with medication.

• Prescription medication broadly: If you take any regular prescription drug, disclose supplements to your doctor before starting. Interactions aren't always obvious and vary by dose and individual.

When To See A Doctor About Hip Pain

Herbs are a reasonable option for managing mild to moderate hip pain, but some symptoms need medical attention rather than a supplement protocol. See a doctor if you have:

• Hip pain after a fall, accident, or injury

• An inability to bear weight or move the hip

• A hip that is hot, swollen, and red, particularly with a fever

• Pain accompanied by unexplained weight loss

• Numbness, weakness, or tingling running down the leg

• Pain that hasn't improved after six to eight weeks of consistent management

These don't necessarily point to something serious, but they warrant a proper diagnosis first. If you're dealing with long-standing chronic pain that hasn't responded to natural approaches, it's worth a fuller conversation with your doctor.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best herb for hip pain?

Devil's claw has the most direct trial evidence, having been studied specifically in hip OA patients. Turmeric and boswellia work well together because they target different inflammatory pathways.

How long do herbs take to work for hip pain?

Most take four to six weeks of consistent daily use, with turmeric and devil's claw often showing their best results at eight to twelve weeks. Willow bark acts faster and can help in the meantime.

Can herbs help osteoarthritis of the hip specifically?

Yes, several have evidence in hip OA patients, but they manage inflammation and pain rather than reversing cartilage loss. They work best alongside movement and weight management, not as a substitute for medical care.

Are these herbs safe with my other medications?

Many interact with blood thinners and diabetes medication. Check with your doctor before adding any herbal supplement if you take prescription drugs.