Femoroacetabular Impingement Specialist

What is FAI?

FAI (femoroacetabular impingement) is a painful condition that appears when abnormal bone growth in your femur or acetabulum (socket) leads to impingement (pinching) of the two hip bones often in hip flexion with subsequent damage or tearing of the hip labrum. Left untreated, it is thought to be the #1 cause of severe hip arthritis requiring hip replacement surgery.

Anyone can develop FAI, although active/athletic people age 15-50 are most likely to get the condition. But Dr. Matsuda has successfully treated patients as young as 11 years old and active seniors in their 70’s.

There are three different types of FAI based on the site of your injury: cam, pincer, and mixed. Cam impingement involves the proximal femur near the femoral head and neck region. Pincer impingement involves the acetabulum (socket) that has too much bone covering the femoral head. Most patients have both conditions (called mixed FAI).

Some patients also have a condition called subspine impingement. You can also experience the rarer condition, ischiofemoral impingement (pinching between the ischium or sit bone and the femur), which can cause buttock pain.

Dr. Matsuda if familiar with diagnosing and treating all of these conditions using outpatient arthroscopic techniques.

What causes FAI?

The bone deformities of FAI are thought to occur in the growing pelvis and hip so that the deformity remains once you reach adulthood.

Your hip is a ball-and-socket joint, with the head of your femur (thigh bone) fitting into the acetabulum (socket). In a normal hip, one can move the hip in various even athletic positions without pinching the two bones together.

But in FAI, bone deformities on the socket (pincer type) and/or femur (cam type) may collide in flexion (for example during squatting, sitting, hurdling, kicking) and tear the hip labrum that gets pinched at the rim of the socket.

The labrum has pain nerve fibers which, when damaged or torn, cause hip and groin pain. Since the labrum is a critical anatomic structure that functions to stabilize and preserve the hip for a lifetime of activity, an untreated labrum tear can cause irreversible arthritis that may require premature hip replacement.

What are the signs of FAI?

The most common signs of FAI are pain and decreased hip motion. The groin or hip pain may be related to certain activities and positions, for example, prolonged sitting. You may also notice some restricted flexion (bending) in your hip because the bone deformities block your full range of motion. Many patients may not notice their restricted hip motion because they’ve lived with it all their lives, but Dr. Matsuda is able to detect even subtle but damaging FAI.

FAI can also cause pain in your pubic area (front of pelvis) and lower back because the blocked hip range of motion transfers unwanted excess stress to those areas.

How is FAI diagnosed?

At Premier Hip Arthroscopy, Dr. Matsuda offers expert diagnosis, including comprehensive exams, diagnostic imaging studies like X-rays and MRIs, and minimally invasive hip arthroscopy.

As a competitive athlete with extensive knowledge and experience of orthopedic hip problems, he can quickly identify FAI — or any other condition causing your pain.

How is FAI treated?

Dr. Matsuda offers customized treatments to deal with FAI. His goals are to relieve your pain and help you get back to your regular activities.

He often begins with noninvasive treatments like medications, physical therapy, and corticosteroid injections. If he needs to remove bone spurs or repair injuries like labral tears, hip arthroscopy is usually your best course of action.

If you're living with hip pain and are concerned about FAI, call Dr. Matsuda at Premier Hip Arthroscopy or make an appointment online today. He is the expert’s expert at successfully treating the most extreme forms of FAI using minimally invasive outpatient hip arthroscopy that other surgeons need to treat with open surgeries.