If you suffer recurrent hip pain, it’s possible that the ball and socket joint that make up your hip aren’t operating properly, which causes a condition known as hip impingement. Read on to learn more about the signs of hip impingement and how it’s treated
Hip impingement – or femoroacetabular impingement – is a condition that happens when the ball of your hip pinches the socket. This condition affects about 10-15% of adults and is one of the earliest signs of osteoarthritis.

Signs of hip impingement include pain and stiffness and can often mirror symptoms of chronic hip pain. Because of that, our orthopedic specialists Joel S. Tupper, MD, and Daniel Jones, MD, and our team at Prairie Garden Medical in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, want to let you know about the signs of hip impingement in case it’s what’s actually causing your chronic hip pain.

Explaining hip impingement
Although the exact cause of hip impingement is unknown, there are a few things that typically cause it to happen. The first is when the ball of your hip is more of an oval shape than a circle which creates a lot of friction in your hip joint. The second happens when your hip socket is abnormally shaped. Either way, it can cause pinching and pain in your hip.

While many people have this abnormal hip shaping at birth, you can also develop hip impingement over time, especially if you’re involved in sports or other activities that involve lots of twisting and squatting.

How to spot hip impingement
Hip impingement may not have any symptoms for many years, and this condition can often be mistaken for chronic hip pain. However, these are some of the symptoms to be on the lookout for in order to receive a hip impingement diagnosis:

  • Pain in your hip and groin
  • Decreased range of motion
  • Clicking or locking of the hip joint
  • You may also find that the hip and groin pain grows worse with long periods of sitting or physical activity.

Diagnosing and treating hip impingement
Hip impingement is diagnosed after reviewing your symptoms, performing a physical exam, and taking X-ray images.

If your hip impingement is minor, it can be treated with conservative methods like rest, modifying your activity levels, over-the-counter pain medications, and physical therapy. However, if these don’t seem to be helpful after a period of time, you may have to consider surgery.

Surgical options can correct any abnormalities in the joint as well as give the surgeon the opportunity to remove damaged and inflamed tissue that may be contributing to your pain.

To learn more about hip impingement or to see if it’s what’s causing your chronic hip pain, contact our team at Prairie Garden Medical located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, by contacting us or use our online scheduler to request an appointment with us today.