Hip Impingement & Labral Injuries

Hip Impingement & Labral Injuries

About hip impingement

Hip impingement, or femoroacetabular impingement (FAI), is a condition where the bones in the hip joint are abnormally shaped. Usually, either the hip socket has too much bone along the rim of the socket. Or, the femoral head on the leg bone isn’t sufficiently rounded. We can treat hip impingement in Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster and Worksop!

This abnormal shape of the joint leads to uneven wearing, friction and pinching of the soft tissues around the hip. It is possible to have both socket and femoral head deformities at the same time. Hip impingement can affect anyone of any age.

The causes of hip impingement include many sporting activities including martial arts, weight training, golf and football, but also lifestyle and occupational causes. Often there is no identifiable cause, however.

What are the symptoms of hip impingement?

You can have hip impingement and not have any symptoms. However, common symptoms include:

• Clicking or “locking” of the hip joint
• Pain in the groin which may be made worse by sitting for long periods
• Difficulty putting on shoes
• Pain when walking uphill
• Pain in the lower back or buttocks

Symptoms for hip impingement can sometimes be confused for lower back pain, hip flexor conditions or hernias.

What treatments are available for hip impingement?

The best treatment for your hip impingement depends on how severe your impingement is, your age, activity levels and any previous history of hip problems. Treatment options include:

• Lifestyle/occupational changes – for example, increasing your activity levels, reducing your sedentary time plus modifying certain movements. This can help to strengthen the muscles around the joint and reduce your symptoms.
• Pain relief – over-the-counter pain killers, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen, can treat the pain and possibly reduce any inflammation as well.
• Physiotherapy – a physiotherapist can prescribe an exercise program to improve both the strength and range of motion in the hip can help. Plus they can manually stretch and manipulate the joint.
• Injections – steroid injections can reduce inflammation to improve the range of movement in the hip.

If the above treatments are not successful, surgery may be an option for you. Following scans and a thorough investigation of your hip impingement, a surgical procedure may be used to both investigate or repair your hip condition.

About labral injuries

The labral cartilage sits in the socket part of the hip joint and helps extend the depth of the socket to keep the ball of the leg bone comfortably inside. Sometimes, hip impingement can cause damage to this labral cartilage. Although it is possible to have a labral injury without a hip impingement.

The symptoms are similar for a labral injury with a dull ache in the hip that can sometimes spread to the thigh, back or buttocks. Generally, the range of motion in the hip is not affected by a labral injury.

Treatments of labral injuries start with reducing excess weight and improving hip strength and include injection therapy and surgery.

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