In Motion Orthopedic Newsletter Fall 2017 BSWORTHO_92_2017_InMotion_NL_single | Page 3

Surgery can ease pain and
preserve the joint in young adults
Hip pain can stem from a hip socket that is too shallow. The problem
can be treated in childhood, but if it’s not addressed then, it can cause
pain later. There’s more: With a shallow hip socket, excessive force is
transmitted across the joint at the edges of the socket, and that force
leads to early wear and deterioration.
The first line of treatment includes activity modification, over-
the-counter pain medication, physical therapy and injections.
If the hip requires surgery and the problem isn’t too severe,
surgeons can perform arthroscopy, a minimally invasive
procedure, to repair some of the damage and potentially
postpone the need for a hip replacement.
Where’s the Pain?
What’s the Problem?
It’s common for people to have hip pain that stems
from a spine problem, or vice versa.
Ioannis Avramis, MD, a spine surgeon on the medical
staff at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Plano
and Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – McKinney,
says that two tests can help doctors diagnose the
pain trigger:
1. An X-ray of the lower back and hips can identify
areas of arthritis.
But the shallowest sockets probably won’t benefit from
arthroscopy. In those cases, the underlying structural
issue needs to be corrected, explains Luke Spencer-
Gardner, MD, an orthopedic surgeon on the medical
staff at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas.
With a procedure called a periacetabular osteotomy,
surgeons make a series of precise, controlled cuts in the
bone around the hip socket to reorient and deepen the
socket, normalizing hip mechanics. People typically spend
four to five days in the hospital afterward and six weeks
on crutches or with a walker while the joint heals. It’s
generally an option for adolescents to young adults.
People ages 35 a