Anterior hip pain – Have you considered femoroacetabular impingement?

Anterior hip pain is a frequent presentation in both primary care and musculoskeletal practice. Common diagnoses of anterior hip pain include iliopsoas tendinopathy and bursitis, snapping hip syndrome, osteoarthritis of the hip and sacro-iliac joint dysfunction or spinal referred pain. More potentially serious conditions including inguinal hernias, avascular necrosis of the femoral head and psoas abcess all need to be considered.One cause of anterior hip pain is femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). Here follows a short review of the typical clinical presentations, imaging features and management options of FAI. The possible role of osteopathy in the management of this condition will also be briefly discussed.