Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 24, 2026
The Transition to an Anterior-Based Muscle Sparing Approach Improves Early Postoperative Function but is Associated with a Learning Curve
Published on: September 7, 2022
A systematic review of objective return to sport criteria following hip arthroscopy for athletes
Parker Scott1,2, Cullen J Hegarty1,3, Andrew Johnson1,4
1Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Division of Sports Medicine Mayo Clinic.
Purpose:
Hip arthroscopy is a minimally invasive procedure which has been increasingly used among athletes for several hip joint related pathologies as it allows for a faster recovery. However, objective return to sport criteria have not been described previously among this population.
Objective:
To systematically review the literature to evaluate and describe the objective return-to-sport (RTS) criteria to release patients back to sport following hip arthroscopy.
Methods:
We conducted a comprehensive literature search according to the PRISMA guidelines. Studies were included in the review if patients underwent a hip arthroscopy procedure and the study described criteria for their patients to RTS. Two independent reviewers selected studies for inclusion and extracted study characteristics and objective RTS criteria.
Results:
Of the 306 that were a part of our original search, 6 studies fit our inclusion criteria. There were 250 athletes (average age: 26.1) and 263 hips which underwent hip arthroscopy surgery. Of these athletes, the cohort was on average 46.5% female and an average of 91.2% of athletes returned to sport about 6 months following surgery. The primary sports these athletes participated in were soccer, swimming, skiing/snowboarding, and hockey. The objective RTS measures that were generally described included sport specific tests, range-of-motion, hip strength, and performance-based criteria.
Conclusion:
There are minimal studies who described objective RTS criteria to release patients back to sport following hip arthroscopy procedures. Sports specific tests, hip strength, and performance-based criteria were mentioned as objective criteria to release patients back to sport.
