High-Level Athletes Who Did Not Return to Sport for Reasons Unrelated to Their Hip Achieve Successful Midterm Outcomes With a Benchmarking Against High-Level Athletes Who Returned to Sport
Authors
Jimenez AE, Monahan PF, Owens JS, Lee MS, Maldonado DR, Saks BR, Ankem HK, Lall AC, Domb BG
Background
- Many high-level athletes undergo hip arthroscopy for femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAIS) but may not return to sport for reasons unrelated to their hip.
- This study compares the outcomes of athletes who did not return to sport after surgery to those who did, to see if return-to-sport status affects overall recovery.
Methods
- Professional, collegiate, and high school athletes who underwent hip arthroscopy were studied.
- Some athletes did not return to sport (T athletes) for reasons like lifestyle change, while others returned to sport (RTS athletes).
- The study compared their outcomes over 2- and 5-year follow-ups, using patient-reported outcome measures (PROs) to assess their recovery.
Key Findings
- Athletes who did not return to sport had similar improvements in PROs (such as pain levels and functional scores) compared to those who returned to sport.
- The rate of achieving minimal clinically important differences (MCID) for some outcome measures was also similar between the two groups.
Conclusions
- Not returning to sport does not necessarily affect recovery outcomes. Athletes who don’t return to sport for reasons unrelated to their hip can still achieve successful recovery.
What Does This Mean for Patients
- If you're an athlete who cannot return to sport for non-hip-related reasons, don't worry—you can still expect a successful recovery after hip arthroscopy. Your hip function may improve significantly, even if you're no longer competing.