Femoral Acetabular Impingement (FAI)
Femoral Acetabular Impingement is also known as hip impingement.
Symptoms
Pain in the front of the hip, usually made worse by bringing the knee to the chest and rotating the thigh.
Cause
The ball-shaped head of the thigh bone does not move normally in the socket of the hip joint. Often the condition is present without pain, but using the hip can bring on pain over time.
Diagnostic Tests
Bring hip to the chest and rotate the thigh, if this brings on anterior hip pain it is considered a positive test for FAI.
Inject a numbing medicine into the joint, if the numbing medicine provides temporary pain relief, it confirms that FAI is the problem (orthoinfo.aaos.org).
Imaging Tests
X-rays. These provide good images of bone, and will show whether your hip has abnormally shaped bones of FAI. X-rays can also show signs of arthritis.
Computed tomography (CT) scans. More detailed than a plain x-ray, CT scans help your doctor see the exact abnormal shape of your hip.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. These studies can create better images of soft tissue. They will help your doctor find damage to the labrum and articular cartilage. Injecting dye into the joint during the MRI may make the damage show up more clearly. (orthoinfo.aaos.org)
Research Review
“There is a no evidence to either support or discourage the use of surgical interventions for femoroacetabular impingement. Therefore, patients undergoing surgical procedures for this condition should do so in the knowledge that it is still an unproven treatment modality.” Conclusion of Cochrane review.
Conservative Treatment
Some people with FAI who have a tight glute max (the largest glute muscle) may benefit from Active Release Techniques (ART), foam rolling and static stretching of the glute max. The hip joint acts like a hinge and increasing the flexibility of the glute may reduce the compression at the front of the hip.
Articles I wrote or contributed to:
Telegraph The ART of Active Release Techniques for Injuries
STACK New Age of Golf Training is Creating Stronger and More Athletic Golfers
Athletics Weekly Performance Therapy for Greg Rutherford
220 Triathlon ART- How is it different from sports massage
Vigour Magazine ART can release tight muscles to improve performance
Progenex ART for CrossFitters
FIT Institute Research based hamstring therapies
TPI What Performance Therapy Looks Like For Top Golfers
Podcasts I was on:
Treating professional athletes and the general public since 1997.