Femoroacetabular impingement is a shape difference between the ball and socket of the hip that causes them to contact earlier than they otherwise would, producing a pinch at the front of the hip in deep flexion. Plenty of people have the shape and no symptoms at all. When it is symptomatic, targeted strengthening and movement changes help the majority without surgery.

Does this sound like you?

Most people have several of these, not all of them.

Pinching pain at the front of the hip or groin in deep flexion
Pain after long periods sitting, particularly in low seats
The "C sign" — cupping the hand around the side of the hip to indicate the pain
Clicking or catching in the hip
Stiffness turning the hip inwards

Why it happens

A bony shape difference at the ball or socket, often present since adolescence
High volumes of deep hip flexion — squatting, cycling, hockey, dance
Sport played through the growth years
Weakness through the deep hip muscles allowing poor control in range

What we would do about it

Roughly in this order — each step waits for the one before it.

Deep hip strengthening and control work through available range
Modifying depth in squatting, cycling position and sitting
Manual therapy for the surrounding tissue
Trunk and gluteal strengthening to change hip mechanics
Graded return to the provoking sport
Referral for a surgical opinion where a structured program has not helped

See a doctor first if

Your pain followed a significant injury
It is getting worse rather than settling
It comes with numbness, weakness or unexplained weight loss

This page is general information, not a diagnosis. Symptoms overlap between conditions, so the right treatment depends on an assessment.

The shape does not have to mean surgery

Many people with impingement-shaped hips have no pain at all. A structured program helps most symptomatic hips, and it is the right thing to try first.

Book a hip assessment Ask a question first

Or call us on 0403 907 587 — we see patients across Seaton.

Other hip conditions we treat

Gluteal Tendinopathy Hip Osteoarthritis Groin Strain Hip Replacement Rehab

Back to all hip conditions

General information only, not advice about your own problem — nothing here replaces an assessment. Source: Femoroacetabular Impingement on Physiopedia.

Hip Impingement