Femoral Acetabular Impingement Treatment WITHOUT Surgery! [Physical Therapist’s Guide]

By dpope2020

May 30, 2025

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Femoral Acetabular Impingement Treatment WITHOUT Surgery! [Physical Therapist's Guide]

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In today's video we go over: Femoral Acetabular Impingement Treatment WITHOUT Surgery! [Physical Therapist's Guide] - FPF Show Episode 172

  • 0:00 Introduction
  • 0:22 What is femoral acetabular impingement syndrome? (FAI)
  • 0:52 Can femoral acetabular impingement syndrome be treated without surgery? (study introduction)
  • 1:27 Surgery vs. Physical Therapy in patients with femoral acetabular impingement syndrome (hip labral pathology)
  • 7:59 What should a physical therapy program for femoral acetabular impingement syndrome consist of?
  • 9:33 How many sessions over how long a period of time should we deliver physical therapy?
  • 9:58 What do patients with femoral acetabular impingement syndrome need to be educated on during physical therapy?
  • 11:06 Should patients take anti-inflammatories with femoral acetabular impingement syndrome and for how long?
  • 11:30 What manual therapies can be helpful for patients with femoral acetabular impingement syndrome?
  • 11:53 Should patients consider a corticosteroid injection in conjunction with physical therapy for femoral acetabular impingement syndrome?
  • 12:13 Which types of exercises should be used in patients with femoral acetabular impingement syndrome?
  • 18:43 Which muscles are weaker in patients with femoral acetabular impingement syndrome?
  • 20:34 What percentage of patients with femoral acetabular impingement syndrome do well with physical therapy and how many go on to get surgery?
  • 46:00 When should patients consider surgery for femoral acetabular impingement syndrome over physical therapy?
  • 47:15 What Physical Therapists Need to Know About Femoral Acetabular Impingement Syndrome

Super Labrums...

- Dan Pope DPT,OCS,CSCS

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Dan Pope DPT, OCS, CSCS

References: 

  1. Pasculli RM, Callahan EA, Wu J, Edralin N, Berrigan WA. Non-operative Management and Outcomes of Femoroacetabular Impingement Syndrome. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. 2023 Nov;16(11):501-513. doi: 10.1007/s12178-023-09863-x. Epub 2023 Aug 31. PMID: 37650998; PMCID: PMC10587039.

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  3. Schwabe MT, Clohisy JC, Cheng AL, Pascual-Garrido C, Harris-Hayes M, Hunt DM, Harris MD, Prather H, Nepple JJ. Short-term Clinical Outcomes of Hip Arthroscopy Versus Physical Therapy in Patients With Femoroacetabular Impingement: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Orthop J Sports Med. 2020 Nov 17;8(11):2325967120968490. doi: 10.1177/2325967120968490. PMID: 33244478; PMCID: PMC7678402.

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  7. Zogby AM, Bomar JD, Johnson KP, Upasani VV, Pennock AT. Nonoperative Management of Femoroacetabular Impingement in Adolescents: Clinical Outcomes at a Mean of 5 Years: A Prospective Study. Am J Sports Med. 2021 Sep;49(11):2960-2967. doi: 10.1177/03635465211030512. Epub 2021 Aug 6. PMID: 34357811.

  8. Griffin DR, Dickenson EJ, Wall PDH, Achana F, Donovan JL, Griffin J, Hobson R, Hutchinson CE, Jepson M, Parsons NR, Petrou S, Realpe A, Smith J, Foster NE; FASHIoN Study Group. Hip arthroscopy versus best conservative care for the treatment of femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (UK FASHIoN): a multicentre randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2018 Jun 2;391(10136):2225-2235. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31202-9. Epub 2018 Jun 1. PMID: 29893223; PMCID: PMC5988794.

  9. Dancy ME, Oladipo V, Boadi P, Mercurio A, Alexander AS, Hevesi M, Krych AJ, Okoroha KR. Femoroacetabular Impingement: Critical Analysis Review of Current Nonoperative Treatments. JBJS Rev. 2025 Apr 16;13(4):e24.00211. doi: 10.2106/JBJS.RVW.24.00211. PMID: 40238927; PMCID: PMC11939100.

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