Yeditepe University Hospitals  Orthopedics and Traumatology Specialist Prof. Dr. Gökhan Meriç answered questions about Hip Impingement Syndrome.

Hip Impingement Syndrome

The hip joint is the joint where your femur meets the pelvis. The hip bones are in the form of a round knob and a nest in which it sits. Normally, this joint moves smoothly during walking, running, sitting, and getting up. Hip impingement syndrome is caused by a bone protrusion in the hip joint or damage to the soft tissues in this area, causing difficulty in movement of the joint and pain.

Conditions that increase the risk of hip compression; genetic characteristics of the person, recurrent severe hip exercise in athletes, previous hip trauma, and those with childhood hip disease are more likely to develop.

Hip impingement syndrome can be seen as an over-wrapping of a protrusion in the hip knob bone or the bone surrounding the hip joint, or as these two conditions are together. The hip bone protrusion is more common in young men, and excessive clamping of the hip joint is more common in women. It may cause symptoms by causing damage to the labrum, the soft tissue surrounding the articular cartilage, and the hip joint due to compression during movement.

What are the Symptoms of Hip Impingement?

Patients may experience hip impingement for years, and you may not know it because it is usually not painful in its early stages. Symptoms of hip compression can be seen as "pain" in the groin and limitation and strain in the movements of the hip, especially when walking or flexing the hip. It can occur during movements such as getting out of the car, riding a bicycle, or tying your shoes.

Weakness in the hip muscles, and repetitive strain may cause complaints of people who are prone to hip compression syndrome. Weakness of the hip muscles increases the joint load by shifting the hip bone forward. Damage to the capsule around the hip joint may cause tears.

Who Can Have Hip Impingement Syndrome?

• People with a family history of hip impingement syndrome
• Repeated stress during childhood and adolescence in people who engage in repetitive activities during development, such as basketball or football, that often require intense hip movement, can trigger hip bone remodeling, and eventually bone development that creates compression.
• History of childhood hip disease that may have changed the shape of the hip bone head (e.g., hip dislocation, slipped femoral head epiphysis, or Perthes disease)
• History of hip fracture