Snapping Hip Syndrome: Pathoanatomy, Diagnosis, Nonoperative Therapy, and Current Concepts in Operative Management

» Asymptomatic snapping hip affects 5% to 10% of the population; when pain becomes the primary symptom, it is classified as snapping hip syndrome (SHS).» The snap can be felt on the lateral side of the hip (external snapping hip), often attributed to an iliotibial band interaction with the greater trochanter, or on the medial side (internal snapping hip), often attributed to the iliopsoas tendon snapping on the lesser trochanter.» History and physical examination maneuvers can help distinguish the etiology, and imaging may help confirm diagnosis and rule out other pathologies.» A nonoperative strategy is used initially; in the event of failure, several surgical procedures are discussed in this review along with their pertinent analyses and key points.» Both open and arthroscopic procedures are based on the lengthening of the snapping structures. While open and endoscopic procedures both treat external SHS, endoscopic procedures typically have lower complication rates and better outcomes when treating internal SHS. This distinction does not appear to be as noticeable in the external SHS.