Iliopsoas Injections: A Systematic Review of Patient Outcomes and Progression to Surgery

Iliopsoas injuries are a common cause of anterior hip and groin pain and can be successfully managed with conservative treatment. Corticosteroid and local anesthetic injections can also be offered in conjunction with nonoperative management. Given the variability in reported injection guidelines, composition, and techniques, the purpose of this study was to systematically review the literature to assess progression to surgery and patient outcomes following iliopsoas injections.

Four online databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, and Scopus) were searched for studies investigating the outcomes of iliopsoas injections from database inception until January 2024 in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Meta-Analyses guidelines. Three reviewers screened titles, abstracts, and full-text articles independently and in duplicate. Recorded data included demographic data, patient-reported outcomes, complications, injection traits, and progression to surgery.

Six articles were included in the review (follow-up time = 28.6 months). These studies included patients with iliopsoas bursitis, tendinopathy, and snapping hip. Five studies used the iliopsoas bursa as the injection target. All studies used local anesthetics in their injection formulations, with 5 also adding a corticosteroid. In 3 studies, the Numeric Rating Scale improved from preinjection (mean = 7.33) to postinjection (mean = 2.47). Three studies demonstrated an improvement in Harris Hip Score from a mean of 58.49 preinjection to 89.91 postinjection. Following injections, 28.9% (68/235) of patients progressed to surgery, with psoas tenotomy (38.3%, 26/68) being the most common procedure. There were no complications reported in all of the included studies.

This study demonstrates that iliopsoas injections are a clinically effective treatment of a variety of pathologies, including bursitis, tendinopathy, and snapping hip, and have a low rate of complications. Physicians should consider using iliopsoas injections in patients whose symptoms are refractory to conservative management, including physical therapy.

Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.