Nonoperative Management of Femoroacetabular Impingement in Adolescents: Clinical Outcomes at a Mean of 5 Years: A Prospective Study

Abstract

Background: There is a lack of midterm or long-term outcome data on nonoperative management of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) syndrome in adolescents despite expanding research mostly focused on arthroscopic management.

Purpose: To present 5-year outcome data utilizing a nonoperative protocol on a consecutive series of patients presenting to our clinic with FAI syndrome.

Study design: Cohort study, Level of evidence, 2.

Methods: A total of 100 patients (62% female; mean age 15 years) who presented to the clinic for evaluation of hip pain and had at least 1 hip with a positive impingement sign were prospectively recruited. The management protocol consisted of an initial trial of rest, physical therapy, and activity modification. Patients who remained symptomatic were offered an intra-articular steroid injection. Patients with recurrent symptoms were then offered arthroscopic treatment. Patient-reported outcomes (PROs), including the modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS) and the Nonarthritic Hip Score (NAHS) were then collected at a mean 1, 2, and 5 years after the initial evaluation.

Results: At enrollment, the mean mHHS and NAHS were 69.6 ± 12.9 and 75.5 ± 15.2, respectively. A total of 51 patients (n = 69 hips) were available at a mean 5-year follow-up, with the mean mHHS and NAHS of 89.5 ± 10.8 and 88.1 ± 12, respectively. There was no significant difference in the mHHS or the NAHS between activity modification and physical therapy, injection, or arthroscopic surgery groups at 5-year follow-up (P > .6) and no difference in the proportion of hips meeting the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for the mHHS based on treatment course (P = .99). There was no significant difference in the mHHS or the NAHS between FAI types at any time point, or in the proportion of hips that met the MCID among FAI types (P = .64). Also, 11 out of 12 hips that required surgery had surgery in less than 2 years. One hip underwent surgery at 5 years after the initial visit. There was no significant drop-off in the mHHS or the NAHS between the 2-year and 5-year time periods (P > .3).

Conclusion: Nonoperative management of FAI syndrome is effective in a majority of adolescent patients, with significant improvements in PROs persisting at a mean 5-year follow-up.

Keywords: adolescent hip pain; femoroacetabular impingement syndrome; labral tear; nonoperative treatment.