It’s not too much of a surprise if an old person gets a hip issue all of a sudden. But if anyone under the age of 16-35 starts feeling a pinch/pain in their hip (a typical medical condition called “hip impingement”), then it’s a matter of grave concern as it may lead to hip osteoarthritis. Preventing it from happening is crucial, so the hip pain must be treated promptly. This calls for understanding the nuances of hip impingement and then chalking down a thorough treatment plan.
The medical nomenclature for this particular condition is known as femoroacetabular impingement. By now, you must already know what impingement means, while on the other hand, femoroacetabular points out to the location in the hipwhere the circular head of the thigh bone (femur) attaches itself with the hip socket i.e. acetabulum.
The classification
There are two types of hip impingements that make a patient feel a painful pinching effect on their hip when they try to move it-
- Cam-type impingement- This is a condition where the femur is not in its original round shape and rather a pistol grip semblance. Due to this, sometimes is it also referred to as a pistol grip deformity. A closer look at the joints shows that the femoral head fails to retain its shape on either side, making it difficult to situate itself inside the socket.
The consequence of this deformity is a straining force on the articular cartilage and labrum- a compact ring of fibrocartilage securely attached around the socket i.e. acetabulum.Here, the labrum offers stability to the socket while the articular cartilage protects the surface of the hip joint by acting as a protective layer.
Sometimes this type of hip impingement happens due to other hip conditions like slipped SCFE or capital femoral epiphysis. But it reported that most of the time, it just occurs by itself as a result of extremes of movements involved in certain activities like gymnastics , goalkeeping , wicket keeping and in some instances it is heriditary
- Pincer-type impingement- In this case, the socket envelops a greater portion of the femoral head. As the hip is put into action by the patient, the labrum meets the femoral neck just underneath the femoral head. Frequent movement at this location can cause the bone to grow at an overwhelming rate, ultimately leading to a condition called heterotopic bone growth.
This impingement is generally caused by some other issues like hip dysplasia or due to the unusual position of the acetabulum.
So, if you have either of the two, you might have typical hip impingent symptoms like-
- Stiffness
- Hip pain
- Trouble with regular movement
Tests and Diagnosis
As mentioned earlier, it is very crucial to diagnose hip impingement during the early stages to prevent the occurrence of osteoarthritis. This is because negligence causes cartilage damage that is designated by this agonizing form of arthritis. By now you must have guessed that- hip impingement is generally considered to be a pre-arthritic medical condition, which decodes that further damage may be averted, prior to the worst-case scenario of the cartilage.
A sports injuries specialist like one from our platform (i.e. shoulder and knee clinic) will start your diagnosis with some imaging tests and a physical exam. Try to converse with your specialist clearly about the first time that you noticed your symptoms and what is making them worse. Eventually, our experienced doctor will incorporate imaging tests to take hi-res images of your hip and the tissue involved in and around the joint. These tests may be-
- MRI
- CT Scan and/or
- Hip X-rat
In the medical exam the doctor will ask you to lie on your back and subsequently to lift your leg up towards your chest. The doctor will then help you to bend your knee 90 degrees (perpendicular to your things), and twist your upper leg in, directed at the center of your body.
These postures will allow our doctor to improvise optimal pressure on your hip in the exact locations where the impingement might hurt. So, if you feel any kind of pain during these movements, you might have the impingement condition. This test might feel uncomfortable to you at some point but it is completely safe.
Supervision and Treatment
Our experienced sports injuries specialist shall suggest a comprehensive routine and actions toward a flawless hip impingement treatment. Generally, it includes-
- Physical Therapy- where it will help you heal the muscles around your affected hip., ultimately enhancing your movement.
- Alteration in activities- by seeking a professional who will monitor your activities and exercises. This will help prevent any further injury of your hip or cause any strain, which might make it worse.
- NSAIDs- OTC (over-the-counter) NSAIDs will relieve you from the excruciating pain and prevent inflammation.
- Corticosteroids- these medications will be prescribed to you and come in the form of an intra articular injection.
- Hip impingement surgery– after a thorough timeline of medication and testing, our doctors might suggest you for the surgical procedure, if they think that further down the line, it might affect your quality of life. This is the definitive treatment for hip engagement provided arthritis has not set in.
In the end, all we can say is that- the earlier, the better. Nobody should linger on the diagnosis and treatment as you have read the consequences. If you have been experiencing the aforesaid symptoms for more than a few weeks, it is high time that you consult our doctors through our prompt platform shoulderandkneeeclinic.com.