FAQs

I am in my mid 40s and have this aching hip pain that radiates to my knee. Someone told me that I might have femoral osteonecrosis. How is this detected? How do they determine how bad it is? An MRI is the gold standard for femoral osteonecrosis detection. Surgeons determine the stage of the disease progression by location, size, and amount of swelling present.Reference: Charalampos G. Zalavras, M.D. and Jay R. Lieberman, M.D. Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head: Evaluation and Treatment. The Jo...

Many articles have been written about the condition affecting the hip known as femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). But the current definition is not specific enough to be used when planning clinical trials.Therefore, the orthopedic surgeons at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have taken on the task of defining this condition with clinical trials in mind. Secondly, they reviewed what is known about the relationship between femoroacetabular impingement (FAI), the later development of...

I've been monkeying around with a hip problem for months now. I've seen the doctor four or five times. Each time, there's a different test ordered. First, there was an examination with poking and prodding. Then it was X-rays, and then an MRI. So far, they think I may have something called FAI. Now they want to inject a numbing agent (like Novacaine) into the hip to see if the pain is really coming from the hip joint. Why is something like this so difficult to figure out? Femoroacetabular impinge...

I am at a crossroads in my life. I have a hip problem called FAI and trying to make good decisions about treatment. I am actively involved in college sports and I don't want to give that up. But my surgeon tells me if I keep reinjuring myself and repetitively pinching the hip with activities, I could end up with early arthritis. She has suggested I try physiotherapy first if I don't want to be on the bench for the season while recovering from surgery. Maybe I should just take the plunge and have...

Help, please! Dad is in the hospital for a hip fracture. They've pinned it and started him on physiotherapy. The doctor and therapist insist he has to get up and walk on that leg. Dad says he needs a couple of days to rest and recouperate before getting up. What can we tell him to convince him to go along with this approach? Immediate weight-bearing after surgery for hip fracture has been proven safe and effective in several studies. But as a general protocol, the medical practice of getting peo...

My father-in-law, mother-in-law, and my own mother have all fallen and broken their hips. Of course, we never really knew if the hip broke and they fell or they fell and the hip broke. In any case, I got to wondering why is it always the hip that breaks? Why don't older adults who fall break a leg or an ankle instead? It's a good question and one that may not have a single best answer. First, it should be noted that osteoporosis (brittle bones from loss of bone density) is a common problem in th...