Injuries about the hip in the adolescent athlete

Athletic injuries in or around the hip in the adolescent athlete encompass possible causes such as a single, traumatic event to those of repetitive microtrauma. The injuries may involve the bone or the soft tissues, with former involving the epiphysis, apophysis, metaphysis, or diaphysis, whereas the latter includes muscles and tendons. With the improvements in surgical technique and instrumentation for hip arthroscopy and the development of magnetic resonance arthrography, clinicians have been able to diagnose and treat labral tears, hip instability, snapping hip, loose bodies, chondral injuries, and femoroacetabular impingement. The clinician needs to consider acquired conditions that may have coincidentally become apparent as a result of the adolescent's participation in an organized sports program. These include slipped capital femoral epiphysis, Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease, and pathologic lesions and fractures. This study reviews the more common acute and chronic overuse injuries in or around the hip in the adolescent athlete and discusses hip injury prevention in this active patient population.