Surgical Management of Hip Pain in Active Patients With Early Osteoarthritis: Navigating the Choice Between Hip Preservation and Arthroplasty

Abstract

Hip pain in active patients with early osteoarthritis can be quite debilitating, affecting mobility, quality of life, and overall well-being. Management of this patient population is challenging because arthroplasty implants inevitably have limited life expectancy while chondral damage can mitigate the benefits of arthroscopic or open hip preservation. A multifaceted, patient-specific approach to clinical decision making is crucial in this patient population, given their higher activity level and expectations compared with older cohorts. Several advances have been made to better stratify patients into the spectrum of management, which includes nonsurgical measures; injections, including orthobiologics; arthroscopic hip preservation; open hip preservation; hip resurfacing; and total hip arthroplasty.