If you have a painful condition in your hip and it isn’t responding to nonsurgical treatment such as rest, physical therapy, medications or injections, hip arthroscopy may be an option for you.

Hip arthroscopy may relieve pain due to damage from an injury or an orthopedic condition such as:

• Labral Tear-- A tear of the cartilage rim that deepens the socket and stabilizes the hip joint by creating a suction-seal. When torn, it causes pain and abnormal hip mechanics that may stress the surrounding muscles.
• Femoro Acetabular impingement (FAI)-- A disorder in which abnormal shape of the bone around the socket and/or the femoral head cause cartilage damage in the hip joint and trap or tear the labrum.
• Dysplasia-- A condition where the socket is unusually shallow, putting the labrum more at risk for tearing.
• Snapping hip syndrome-- Snapping felt in the front or side of the hip from an overly-tight tendon snapping across the bony anatomy of the hip like a tight rubber band. Often, this produces pain or discomfort that can be treated conservatively or with surgery.
• Synovitis-- A reaction of the joint lining to a problem in the hip joint. The joint lining produces an inflammatory reaction that is painful.
• Loose bodies-- Fragments of bone or cartilage that become loose and move around within the joint. This acts like a pebble in the bottom of your shoe, causing pain and sometimes locking of the hip.

Most of our patients return to full sport activity. In fact in studies, 98% of the professional athletes who had hip arthroscopy surgery by the physician who trained Dr. Wierks returned to their professional sport. Your recovery depends on the type of damage present in your hip.