Hip-Spine Syndrome: The Diagnostic Utility of Guided Intra-articular Hip Injections
Overlapping symptoms between hip and lumbar spine pathologies complicate diagnoses and treatments. The purpose of this study was to determine the utility of guided intra-articular hip injection in identifying the pain source in hip-spine syndrome. A search of PubMed and Cochrane databases yielded 9 studies. The mean values for sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of guided intra-articular hip injection were 93.6%, 95.0%, 98.8%, and 86.3%, respectively. Thus, in hip-spine syndrome, when a pain source cannot be elucidated, an ultrasound- or fluoroscopic-guided intra-articular hip injection may be a powerful and reliable diagnostic tool.