Evaluation of hip pain in young adults

Hip pain is a common complaint in the young, athletic patient population. Primary, intra-articular sources of hip pain are becoming increasingly recognized by primary care providers and sports medicine specialists. Prior to deciding among the various treatment options for the many sources of hip pain in the athletic patient population, the clinician must be able to recognize and accurately diagnose the underlying pathology. Advances in imaging modalities and our understanding of the pathophysiology have improved our ability to accurately understand and diagnose the source of hip pain in this patient population. This review presents a comprehensive strategy for the workup and diagnosis of young, athletic patients presenting with hip pain, and provides the sports medicine specialist with the tools to correlate the patient's history, physical examination, and imaging findings and to treat these challenging patients.