- /
- Conflito femoro-acetabular /
- Como diagnosticar o conflito femoro-acetabular?
How to diagnose femoroacetabular impingement?
The diagnosis of femoroacetabular impingement is made based upon the symptoms (see section "What is femoroacetabular impingement?") of the patient and physical examination. Mobilization of the hip in a certain direction at certain amplitude must reproduce the symptoms that lead the patient to the doctor’s appointment. There may be cases, however, with less typically pain located in the buttock. When this condition is suspected, proper anteroposterior radiographs of the entire pelvis and “cross-table view” profile of the hip should be ordered (fig.1, 2 and 3).
|
fig. 1: In a radiograph of a young patient centered properly (the orange line goes through the middle of the sacrum and the pubic symphysis) we observe:
|
| fig. 2: In the profile radiograph of the same patient noticed that part of the femoral head is not spherical. |
| fig. 3: In the anteroposterior radiograph observed an excess of global acetabular coverage (deep thigh) determining the existence of a pincer mechanism global impingement (anterior and posterior). In the left hip we observed that the line of the posterior wall (red) and more lateral with respect to the geometric center of the femoral head which means excessive posterior wall. In the left hip we observed that the outline of the acetabular cavity (red) intersects a line joining the iliac ischium - ileo-ischial line (blue). |
In patients with symptoms, to assess the degree of cartilage lesion and acetabular labrum, the MRI, carried out according to a specific protocol, might be very important (video). The lesion of the labrum and the morphology of the hip are sometimes difficult to interpret following radial images, so this should be done preferably in a reference medical center.
When there are doubts regarding the source of pain, there may be performed an intraarticular injection monitored with radioscopy to be sure the pain comes from the hip and not from another location (fig. 4).
| fig. 4: The combined injection with contrast (yellow arrow) allows us to be certain that the anesthetic is really placed within the joint. If for a while the pain goes away, then it arises from the intra-articular lesion. |
Radial MRI with contrast can detect intra-articular cartilage defects and labrum
Radial MRI with contrast can detect intra-articular cartilage defects and labrum which are not viewable by other means. In this case the head of the femur presents anterior and posterior deformity.
Legal Notice
CirurgiaConservadoradAnca.com has been developed for the purpose of providing information on the various hip pathologies to patients, physicians and other healthcare professionals. The information contained in this website cannot replace a proper clinical assessment. May not in any way be used to make a diagnosis or suggest treatment. This website has no interest or is in any way associated with companies that sell medications or surgical equipment.
The content of the website is for informative purposes only and its use is the sole responsibility of users.
All submitted content is intelectual property of the author. It is expressly forbidden to copy and use without permission of the same.
It is not allowed to make connections to this website as well as framing, mirroring and link directly to specific subpages (deep linking) without the prior written consent of CirurgiaConservadoraAnca.com
Paulo Amaral Rego M.D.
Orthopaedic Surgeon
Specialized in hip hip arthroscopy, periacetabular osteotomy - hip dysplasia, hip preserving and reconstructive surgery.
Head of Hip Unit - Hospital da Luz
Head of Orthopaedic Department - Hospital da Luz