Not all chronic hip pain is due to arthritis. Hip impingement can cause significant pain during sports activity as well as daily routines including getting dressed, climbing stairs, and even sitting comfortably in a chair. Hip impingement tends to occur in active young adults, and especially athletes. It’s a painful and often unrecognized condition involving a tear in the hip labrum.

Now the damage can be repaired and the bone re-contoured using a procedure known as using hip arthroscopy. With two small incisions and a small camera, the surgeon can clearly visualize the hip ball and socket, see exactly where the impingement is, and repair the problem. Because it’s minimally invasive surgery, there’s significantly less pain, minimal scarring and a shorter recover time than with open surgery.

ONS Orthopedic surgeon Tim Greene, MD is Fellowship-trained in sports medicine and hip arthroscopy.