In addition, the patient sustained a partial tear of his right acetabular labrum when the head of his femur pinched the labrum against his os coxa. The pinch resulted from a swift anterior force from an opponent’s screen during a basketball game.
Our athlete has been playing basketball since age 5 and has been experiencing signs and symptoms of FAI for the last 5 years. Team physicians feel that the FAI is largely a consequence of the repeated compressive forces experienced by the femur when the hip is either flexed, extended, abducted or adducted. Additionally, repeated stress on the joint has resulted in bony calcification around the acetabular fossa (Wolff’s law), limiting the motion and increasing the likelihood of a more serious hip injury. Doctors have also noted a slight varus alignment at the knees joint as a potential contributing factor.
The hip consists of a ball-n-socket joint in which the convex head of the femur sits in the concave acetabular fossa of the os coxa. The acetabular fossa includes a of fibrocartilage labrum which functions to deepen the socket and provide increased stability for the joint. In addition, the labrum helps to seal the articulation preventing synovial fluid, used to decrease friction, from escaping the