Conservative Management of Femoroacetabular Impingement

Study Summary

Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) is recognized as a formal source of hip pain and disability typically affecting the young adult, active population and has been identified as a precursor to hip osteoarthritis (OA). Common impairments include sharp, anterior groin pain in a position of hip flexion limiting patients' ability to tolerate prolonged sitting, squatting, stair climbing, etc. resulting in both work limitations and decreased social participation. Manual therapy and exercise is known to be effective in reducing pain and increasing physical function in the management of hip OA. To the extent that FAI is often a precursor to developing hip OA, logic would seem to dictate a manual therapy plus exercise approach to decrease pain and disability and potentially prevent or delay osteoarthritis related surgery. Currently, surgery is considered the first line of treatment with respect to FAI. However, there is a lack of evidence to support or refute the use of conservative treatment interventions in this patient population. This study is designed to investigate the benefits of physical therapy interventions (manual therapy and exercise) over usual care for improving pain and physical function in patients with FAI of the hip. For this study, 52 participants will be recruited from the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, for an outpatient consultation for consideration of hip arthroscopy surgery. Participants will include those patients who meet clinical and radiological criteria for formal diagnosis of FAI. Participants will be randomized into two treatment groups. Participants in one group will receive usual care plus manual therapy directed at the hip as well as a supervised exercise program and home exercise program twice weekly for six weeks. Participants in the usual care group will receive usual care as prescribed by the physician. Changes in pain, physical function and benefits of the intervention will be assessed over six we

Primary Outcome

Participants will fill out the Hip Outcome Score (HOS). The HOS is a 29-item instrument. Patient data from the HOS has been reported as reliable, valid, and responsive specific to this patient population and has been identified as the best available questionnaire for assessing younger patients undergoing hip arthroscopy. Test-retest reliability has been reported in the range of ICC = 0.92 - 0.98; internal consistency measures at cronbach's alpha = 0.96, 0.95; and responsiveness characteristics w

Interventions

• OTHER Manual therapy plus exercise
• OTHER Advice and home exercise