Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) – enlarged, aspherical femoral head deformity (cam-type) or retroversion/overcoverage of the acetabulum (pincer-type) – is a leading cause for early hip osteoarthritis. Although anteverting/reverse periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) to address FAI aims to preserve the native hip and restore joint function, it is still unclear how it affects joint mobility and stability. This in vitro cadaveric study examined the effects of surgical anteverting PAO on range of motion and capsular mechanics in hips with acetabular retroversion.

Twelve cadaveric hips (n = 12, m:f = 9:3; age = 41 ± 9 years; BMI = 23 ± 4 kg/m2) were included in this study. Each hip was CT imaged and indicated acetabular retroversion (i.e., crossover sign, posterior wall sign, ischial wall sign, retroversion index > 20%, axial plane acetabular version < 15°); and showed no other abnormalities on CT data. Each hip was denuded to the bone-and-capsule and mounted onto a 6-DOF robot tester (TX90, Stäubli), equipped with a universal force-torque sensor (Omega85, ATI). The robot positioned each hip in five sagittal angles: Extension, Neutral 0°, Flexion 30°, Flexion 60°, Flexion 90°; and performed hip internal-external rotations and abduction-adduction motions to 5 Nm in each position. After the intact stage was tested, each hip underwent an anteverting PAO, anteverting the acetabulum and securing the fragment with long bone screws. The capsular ligaments were preserved during the surgery and each hip was retested postoperatively in the robot. Postoperative CT imaging confirmed that the acetabular fragment was properly positioned with adequate version and head coverage. Paired sample t-tests compared the differences in range of motion before and after PAO (CI = 95%; SPSS v.24, IBM).

Preoperatively, the intact hips with acetabular retroversion demonstrated constrained internal-external rotations and abduction-adduction motions. The PAO reoriented the acetabular fragment and medialized the hip joint centre, which tightened the iliofemoral ligament and slackenend the pubofemoral ligament. Postoperatively, internal rotation increased in the deep hip flexion positions of Flexion 60° (∆IR = +7°, p = 0.001) and Flexion 90° (∆IR = +8°, p = 0.001); while also demonstrating marginal decreases in external rotation in all positions. In addition, adduction increased in the deep flexion positions of Flexion 60° (∆ADD = +11°, p = 0.002) and Flexion 90° (∆ADD = +12°, p = 0.001); but also showed marginal increases in abduction in all positions.

The anteverting PAO restored anterosuperior acetabular clearance and increased internal rotation (28–33%) and adduction motions (29–31%) in deep hip flexion. Restricted movements and positive impingement tests typically experienced in these positions with acetabular retroversion are associated with clinical symptoms of FAI (i.e., FADIR). However, PAO altered capsular tensions by further tightening the anterolateral hip capsule which resulted in a limited external rotation and a stiffer and tighter hip. Capsular tightness may still be secondary to acetabular retroversion, thus capsular management may be warranted for larger corrections or rotational osteotomies. In efforts to optimize surgical management and clinical outcomes, anteverting PAO is a viable option to address FAI due to acetabular retroversion or overcoverage.

Surgical management of cam-type femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) aims to preserve the native hip, restore joint function, and delay the onset of osteoarthritis. However, it is unclear how surgery affects joint mechanics and hip joint stability. The aim was to examine the contributions of each surgical stage (i.e., intact cam hip, capsulotomy, cam resection, capsular repair) towards hip joint centre of rotation and microinstability.

Twelve fresh, frozen cadaveric hips (n = 12 males, age = 44 ± 9 years, BMI = 23 ± 3 kg/m2) were skeletonized to the capsule and included in this study. All hips indicated cam morphology on CT data (axial α = 63 ± 6°, radial α = 74 ± 4°) and were mounted onto a six-DOF industrial robot (TX90, Stäubli). The robot positioned each hip in four sagittal angles: 1) Extension, 2) Neutral 0°, 3) Flexion 30°, and 4) Flexion 90°, and performed internal and external hip rotations until a 5-Nm torque was reached in each direction, while recording the hip joint centre's neutral path of translation. After the (i) intact hip was tested, each hip underwent a series of surgical stages and was retested after each stage: (ii) T-capsulotomy (incised lateral iliofemoral capsular ligament), (iii) cam resection (removed morphology), and (iv) capsular repair (sutured portal incisions). Eccentricity of the hip joint centre was quantified by the microinstability index (MI = difference in rotational foci / femoral head radius). Repeated measures ANOVA and post-hoc paired t-tests compared the within-subject differences in hip joint centre and microinstability index, between the testing stages (CI = 95%, SPSS v.24, IBM).

At the Extension and Neutral positions, the hip joint centre rotated concentrically after each surgical stage. At Flexion 30°, the hip joint centre shifted inferolaterally during external rotation after capsulotomy (p = 0.009), while at Flexion 90°, the hip joint centre further shifted inferolaterally during external rotation (p = 0.005) and slightly medially during internal rotation after cam resection, compared to the intact stages. Consequently, microinstability increased after the capsulotomy at Flexion 30° (MI = +0.05, p = 0.003) and substantially after cam resection at Flexion 90° (MI = +0.07, p = 0.007). Capsular repair was able to slightly restrain the rotational centre and decrease microinstability at the Flexion 30° and 90° positions (MI = −0.03 and −0.04, respectively).

Hip microinstability occurred at higher amplitudes of flexion, with the cam resection providing more intracapsular volume and further lateralizing the hip joint during external rotation. Removing the cam deformity and impingement with the chondrolabral junction also medialized the hip during internal rotation, which can restore more favourable joint loading mechanics and stability. These findings support the pathomechanics of cam FAI and suggest that iatrogenic microinstability may be due to excessive motions, prior to post-operative restoration of static (capsular) and dynamic (muscle) stability. In efforts to limit microinstability, proper nonsurgical management and rehabilitation are essential, while activities that involve larger amplitudes of hip flexion and external rotation should be avoided immediately after surgery.

With the growing number of individuals with asymptomatic cam-type deformities, elevated alpha angles alone do not always explain clinical signs of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). Differences in additional anatomical parameters may affect hip joint mechanics, altering the pathomechanical process resulting in symptomatic FAI. The purpose was to examine the association between anatomical hip joint parameters and kinematics and kinetics variables, during level walking.

Fifty participants (m = 46, f = 4; age = 34 ± 7 years; BMI = 26 ± 4 kg/m²) underwent CT imaging and were diagnosed as either: symptomatic (15), if they showed a cam deformity and clinical signs; asymptomatic (19), if they showed a cam deformity, but no clinical signs; or control (16), if they showed no cam deformity and no clinical signs. Each participant's CT data was measured for: axial and radial alpha angles, femoral head-neck offset, femoral neck-shaft angle, medial proximal femoral angle, femoral torsion, acetabular version, and centre-edge angle. Participants performed level walking trials, which were recorded using a ten-camera motion capture system (Vicon MX-13, Oxford, UK) and two force plates (Bertec FP4060–08, Columbus, OH, USA). Peak sagittal and frontal hip joint angles, range of motion, and moments were calculated using a custom programming script (MATLAB R2015b, Natick, MA, USA). A one-way, between groups ANOVA examined differences among kinematics and kinetics variables (α = 0.05), using statistics software (IBM SPSS v.23, Armonk, NY, USA); while a stepwise multiple regression analysis examined associations between anatomical parameters and kinematics and kinetics variables.

No significant differences in kinematics were observed between groups. The symptomatic group demonstrated lower peak hip abduction moments (0.12 ± 0.08 Nm/kg) than the control group (0.22 ± 0.10 Nm/kg, p = 0.01). Sagittal hip range of motion showed a moderate, negative correlation with radial alpha angle (r = −0.33, p = 0.02), while peak hip abduction moment correlated with femoral neck-shaft angle (r = 0.36, p = 0.009) and negatively with femoral torsion (r = −0.36, p = 0.009). With peak hip abduction moment in the stepwise regression analysis, femoral torsion accounted for a variance of 13.3% (F(1, 48) = 7.38; p = 0.009), while together with femoral neck-shaft angle accounted for a total variance of 20.4% (R² change = 0.07, F(2, 47) = 6.01; p = 0.047).

Although elevated radial alpha angles may have limited sagittal range of motion, the cam deformity parameters did not affect joint moments. Femoral neck-shaft angle and femoral torsion were significantly associated with peak hip abduction moment, suggesting that the insertion location of the abductor affects muscle's length and its resultant force vector. A varus neck angle, combined with severe femoral torsion, may ultimately influence muscle moment arms and hip mechanics in individuals with cam FAI.