Does Participation in Sports Affect Osteoarthritic Progression After Periacetabular Osteotomy?

Periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) is an effective treatment for symptomatic acetabular dysplasia. However, whether postoperative participation in sports leads to progression of the Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) grade of osteoarthritis (OA) in these patients is unclear.

To investigate (1) participation in sports before and after PAO and (2) whether postoperative participation in sports leads to progression of the KL grade.

Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3.

The authors retrospectively reviewed data on 161 patients (183 hips) who underwent PAO for symptomatic acetabular dysplasia with preoperative KL grade 1 or 2 between 1998 and 2011. The mean age at the time of surgery was 42.0 ± 10.9 years (range, 12-64 years), and the mean follow-up duration was 100 months (range, 13-180 months). Data included participation in sports, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) activity scale score, age at the time of surgery, body mass index, follow-up duration, history of treatment for developmental hip dislocations, Merle d'Aubigné-Postel score, Oxford Hip Score, center-edge angle, and KL grade. Univariate and multivariate analyses were applied to determine which factors were associated with progression to KL grade 3 or 4 after PAO.

The number of patients who participated in sports significantly increased from 50 (31.1%) preoperatively to 89 (55.3%) postoperatively. The mean UCLA score significantly increased from 4.7 ± 2.1 preoperatively to 5.5 ± 2.0 postoperatively. The KL grade progressed to grade 3 or 4 in 16 hips, including 4 hips that underwent conversion to total hip arthroplasty. No significant differences were found in postoperative participation in sports (89 hips [53.3%] vs 11 hips [68.8%], respectively; P = .24) and the UCLA score (5.6 ± 2.0 vs 5.1 ± 2.0, respectively; P = .30) between hips with KL grade 1 or 2 and KL grade 3 or 4. A multivariate analysis revealed that no factors, including postoperative participation in sports, were significantly associated with progression to KL grade 3 or 4.

Postoperative participation in sports after PAO did not significantly and negatively influence progression of the KL grade at midterm follow-up.