Femoroacetabular Impingement (FAI) Treatment Options

Can FAI be treated without surgery?

Some people live active lives, never knowing they have FAI, and don’t have any hip pain. By the time symptoms develop, there is usually some damage to the hip labrum, and with repeated use, the damage may progress. The reason athletes are often diagnosed with FAI is because they overuse the joint in extreme ranges of motion, which damages the labrum and causes hip pain. In mild to moderate cases, FAI pain can be treated without surgery.

Non-operative treatment of FAI involves a change in activities to avoid movements that cause hip pain, including taking time off from activities that cause hip pain, using over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications to reduce pain and inflammation, and physical therapy. Typically, symptoms will resolve within several weeks of conservative, non-surgical treatment. A steroid injection can also help relieve hip pain. If your hip pain is resolved with non-operative treatment and you are able to return to your desired level of activity, then no FAI surgery is needed.

What are the surgical options for FAI?

When nonsurgical FAI treatments do not relieve hip pain and imaging confirms FAI with an associated hip labral tear, hip surgery is a reasonable option. FAI surgery can be performed in a minimally invasive procedure called hip arthroscopy. FAI surgery is usually an outpatient procedure, and you will go home the same day. During your FAI surgery, Dr. Chahla will remove the abnormal bone growth causing the hip impingement and repair the labral tear. On rare occasions, more commonly associated with revision hip surgery, a labral reconstruction may be indicated. Surgery typically lasts about 1-2 hours. Hip surgery is customized for each patient based off of each patient’s unique hip anatomy and hip condition.