Editorial Commentary: Response to Intra-articular Injection May Not Predict Response to Hip Arthroscopy, but Don't...

Mounting evidence suggests that patient response to intra-articular injection may not predict clinical response to arthroscopy in the setting of femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAIS), as once believed. However, the hip preservation community should not take this to mean that diagnostic injections lack value in establishing a diagnosis of FAIS and distinguishing it from extra-articular hip conditions. Like other diagnostic tools, intra-articular injection is not a stand-alone test intended to definitively determine proper treatment. All diagnostic tools, to include elements as basic as assessment of pain location and provocative examination maneuvers, have shown poor specificity in predicting response to arthroscopy for FAIS when evaluated in isolation. Intra-articular injections, as with all other tools of the orthopaedic surgeon, must be considered in light of the entire evaluation of the patient.