A COMPARISON OF PRE- AND POST-OPERATIVE THREE-DIMENSIONAL HIP KINEMATICS DURING LEVEL WALKING IN PATIENTS WITH CAM FEMOROACETABULAR IMPINGEMENT

Abstract

Cam femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) is an idiopathic progressive pathological condition of the hip joint characterized by an abnormal bony protuberance on the femoral head-neck junction (Beck, Leunig, Parvizi, Boutier, Wyss & Ganz, 2004). During the limits of hip range of motion (ROM), the protuberance jams into the acetabulum (Ganz, Parvizi, Beck, Leunig, Nötzli & Siebenrock, 2003), resulting in acute hip and groin pain (Beaulé, LeDuff, & Zaragoza, 2007). Impingement has also been shown to occur within normal ROM of the hip during basic tasks such as walking, reducing peak hip abduction angles as well as hip frontal and sagittal ROM (Kennedy, Lamontagne & Beaulé, 2009). Cam FAI primarily affects young and athletic males (Ganz, Parvizi, Beck, Leunig, Nötzli & Siebenrock, 2003), and is common in hockey, football, soccer, rugby, martial arts and tennis athletes (Philippon, Schenker, Briggs & Kuppersmith, 2007). Restricted hip mobility during activities requiring low ROM suggests more pronounced limitations during demanding athletic tasks. Surgical procedures have been developed to remove the bony abnormality from the femoral head-neck junction with the objective of attenuating hip pain and restoring normal hip biomechanics, enabling athletes to return to sport. The purpose of this study is to assess the clinical outcome of cam FAI corrective surgery by comapring pre-operative and post-operative three-dimensional (3-D) hip kinematics during level walking.