What Physical Therapists NEED to Know About Femoral Acetabular Impingement Syndrome

By dpope2020

May 23, 2025

cam impingement, dan pope, FAI, fai exercises, fai hip impingement, fai hip pain, fai surgery, femoral acetabular impingement, femoroacetabular impingement, femoroacetabular impingement exercises, fitness pain free, fitnesspainfree, hip impingement, hip impingement exercises, hip impingement stretches, hip impingement test, hip impingement treatment, Hip Labral Tear, hip pain, hip surgery, physical therapy, physiotherapy, pincer impingement

What Physical Therapists NEED to Know About Femoral Acetabular Impingement Syndrome

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In today's video we go over: What Physical Therapists NEED to Know About Femoral Acetabular Impingement Syndrome - FPF Show Episode 171

  • 0:00 Introduction
  • 1:14 What is femoral acetabular impingement syndrome? (FAI)
  • 1:59 How common is femoral acetabular impingement syndrome?
  • 6:34 What are the most common populations to get femoral acetabular impingement syndrome?
  • 7:18 What is the relevant anatomy for femoral acetabular impingement syndrome?
  • 9:59 What are the different types of femoral acetabular impingement syndrome? (Radiographic findings)
  • 13:43 How common are asymptomatic findings in femoral acetabular impingement syndrome?
  • 18:50 What are the risk factors for acquiring femoral acetabular impingement syndrome?
  • 23:36 Is femoral acetabular impingement syndrome associated with hip arthritis?
  • 27:44 What is the mechanism of injury for femoral acetabular impingement syndrome?
  • 32:21 How do we begin diagnosing femoral acetabular impingement syndrome?
  • 36:57 History (subjective) and physical examination (objective) for patients with femoral acetabular impingement syndrome
  • 40:04 Special tests for femoral acetabular impingement syndrome
  • 54:38 Using alpha angle to measure how big the CAM morphology is (radiographic findings)
  • 55:59 Using the lateral center edge angle to measure how big the Pincer morphology is (radiographic findings)
  • 57:25 Using the tonnis angle to measure how big the Pincer morphology is (radiographic findings)
  • 1:01:35 Diagnostic imaging for FAI - MRI & MRA arthrogram
  • 1:05:56 Are corticosteroids effective for femoral acetabular impingement syndrome?
  • 1:09:08 What are some red flags to be on the lookout for when diagnosing femoral acetabular impingement syndrome?
  • 1:09:57 Differential diagnosis: Arthritis, dysplasia, avascular necrosis, femoral neck bone stress injuries, hip flexor & gluteal tendinopathy, lumbar radicular pain, snapping hip syndrome
  • 1:18:45 What are effective treatments for femoral acetabular impingement syndrome?
  • 1:21:05 How effective is non-surgical management for patients with femoral acetabular impingement syndrome?
  • 1:25:14 Is surgery an effective treatment for femoral acetabular impingement syndrome?
  • 1:27:38 What are contra-indications for surgical management of femoral acetabular impingement syndrome?
  • 1:29:16 What are return to sport rates after surgery for femoral acetabular impingement syndrome and are patients returning at the same level of play?
  • 1:31:11 The Best Diagnostic Tests for Hip Flexor Strain Injuries

My hip kinda hurts...

- Dan Pope DPT,OCS,CSCS

Show Notes / Relevant Articles:

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Thank you!

Dan Pope DPT, OCS, CSCS

References: 

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  22. FAI Image 1: Image Source, License, Attribution: OpenStax College – Edited by Fitness Pain Free LLC

  23. FAI Image 2: Image source, license, attribution: Takuma-sa – Edited by Fitness Pain Free LLC

  24. Fai image 3: Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Epilys.jpg Attribution: Dr. Jochen Lengerke, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

  25. Fai image 4: Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Alpha_angle_measured_in_45_degrees_Dunn_view.jpg attribution: Article authors: Ruiz Santiago, Fernando; Santiago Chinchilla, Alicia; Ansari, Afshin; Guzmán Álvarez, Luis; Castellano García, Maria del Mar; Martínez Martínez, Alberto; Tercedor Sánchez, Juan, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons 

  26. Fai Image 5: Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Center-edge_angle_of_Wiberg.jpg  attribution: Article authors: Ruiz Santiago, Fernando; Santiago Chinchilla, Alicia; Ansari, Afshin; Guzmán Álvarez, Luis; Castellano García, Maria del Mar; Martínez Martínez, Alberto; Tercedor Sánchez, Juan, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

  27. Fai Image 6: Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/T%C3%B6nnis_angle_of_the_hip.jpg   attribution: Article authors: Article authors: Ruiz Santiago, Fernando; Santiago Chinchilla, Alicia; Ansari, Afshin; Guzmán Álvarez, Luis; Castellano García, Maria del Mar; Martínez Martínez, Alberto; Tercedor Sánchez, Juan, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons