Conservative management acutely improves functional movement and clinical outcomes in patients with pre-arthritic hip pain

Ryan P McGovern; RobRoy L Martin; Amy L Phelps; Benjamin R Kivlan; Beth Nickel; John J Christoforetti

doi:10.1093/jhps/hnz075

Conservative management acutely improves functional movement and clinical outcomes in patients with pre-arthritic hip pain

J Hip Preserv Surg. 2020 Jan 22;7(1):95-102. doi: 10.1093/jhps/hnz075. eCollection 2020 Jan.

Authors

Ryan P McGovern¹, RobRoy L Martin², Amy L Phelps³, Benjamin R Kivlan⁴, Beth Nickel⁵, John J Christoforetti¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, Texas Health Sports Medicine, Allegheny Health Network, 1120 Raintree Circle, Suite 280, Allen, TX 75013, USA.
² Department of Physical Therapy, Duquesne University, University of Pittsburgh Center for Sports Medicine, 600 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15282, USA.
³ Palumbo Donahue School of Business, Duquesne University, 600 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15282, USA.
⁴ Department of Physical Therapy, Duquesne University, 600 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15282, USA.
⁵ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Allegheny Health Network, 4800 Friendship Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15224, USA.

Abstract

Conservative management for individuals with pre-arthritic hip pain is commonly prescribed prior to consideration of surgical management. The purpose of this study is to determine if patients with pre-arthritic hip pain will improve their functional movement control and clinical outcome measures following the implementation of physical therapy and a home-exercise programme. Information was retrospectively collected on consecutive patients and included: demographics, diagnosis, initial and follow-up evaluation of the single leg squat test (SLST) and step-down test (SDT), and patient-reported outcome measures. An independent t-test and one-way analysis of covariance were performed for continuous patient-reported outcome measures and a Fisher's exact test was performed for patient satisfaction. Forty-six patients (31 female and 15 male) diagnosed with pre-arthritic hip pain were included. A total of 30 patients improved their functional movement control during performance of the SLST, whereas 31 patients improved performance of the SDT. There was a statistically significant difference between patients that improved and did not improve (P ≤ 0.017). Patients with pre-arthritic hip pain who improved their functional movement control following a prescribed rehabilitation intervention are likely to report less pain and greater functional ability in their daily and sports-related activities. This study supports conservative management to acutely improve outcomes for patients with pre-arthritic hip pain.