Femoroacetabular Impingement of the Hip
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Femoroacetabular Impingement

Femoroacetabular Impingement - What it is

What is Femoroacetabular Impingement(FAI)?

 

FAI is a condition in which there is abnormal contact (i.e. impingement) between the hip joint socket and top part of the leg (i.e. femur) bone during hip movement.

Femoroacetabular Impingement - Symptoms

The most common movement that brings on pain is hip flexion or rotation. Pain is usually felt deep in the groin but sometimes, it is felt further down the front of the thigh, side or back of the hip, or the buttock. There may also be episodes of clicking or snapping in the hip.

Certain activities, especially those that involve hip flexion (e.g. football, dancing, ballet and aerobics) will make the pain worse.

Sitting for a prolonged period of time can also bring on the hip pain.

Femoroacetabular Impingement - How to prevent?

What should you not do?

Avoid high impact activities which can stimulate the pain such as running, jumping and heavy lifting.

Seek immediate medical attention if you have constant or severe hip pain, difficulty walking or sleeping due to the hip pain, or fevers or weight loss associated with the hip pain onset.

What can you do?

We’d recommend low-impact exercises such as walking, swimming and cycling, as tolerated. Upper limb body weight or resistance exercises can also be done.

Femoroacetabular Impingement - Causes and Risk Factors

Femoroacetabular Impingement - Diagnosis

Femoroacetabular Impingement - Treatments

What can we do?

Your doctor will take your history, perform a physical examination and send you for further relevant radiological investigations. X-rays can show if your hip has the abnormally-shaped hip joint bones of FAI and can show us if there are signs of arthritis. An MRI scan of the hip will allow the doctor to look for damage to the labrum (i.e. fibrocartilage) or articular cartilage of your hip joint.

The doctor will then be able to recommend activity modification, prescribe pain medications and refer you for physical therapy for hip strengthening and to improve the hip motion. Sometimes, they may refer you to an Orthopaedic Surgeon to evaluate whether arthroscopic surgery is necessary.

Exercises to strengthen hip

  • Single leg mini squat
  • Bulgarian squat
  • Running man on trampoline
  • Double leg bridging
  • Single leg bridging
  • Step ups
  • Forward lunges
  • Side lunges
  • Double leg ½ squats
  • Single leg ½ squats
  • Wall squats
  • Double leg chair stands
  • Single leg chair stands
  • clams

Exercises to improve the hip motion

  • Hip flexor stretch
  • Hip external rotation stretch 1
  • Hip external rotation stretch 2
  • Hip internal rotation stretch

Femoroacetabular Impingement - Preparing for surgery

Femoroacetabular Impingement - Post-surgery care

Femoroacetabular Impingement - Other Information

The information provided is not intended as medical advice. Terms of use. Information provided by SingHealth

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