Recent Advances in the Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment of Femoroacetabular Impingement Syndrome

Abstract

Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) can cause persistent damage to the hip joint and lead to osteoarthritis; delayed treatment increases the risk of total hip replacement. This article systematically reviews recent research advances in the clinical diagnosis and stepwise treatment of FAI: At the diagnostic level, X-rays can be used for initial screening and classification; multislice spiral CT can provide three-dimensional reconstruction to accurately quantify bony deformities; conventional MRI is the gold standard for diagnosing soft tissue injuries such as labral and cartilage damage; delayed gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of cartilage (dGEMRIC) can detect ultra-early biochemical cartilage degeneration; and three-dimensional gait analysis can objectively quantify patients’ characteristic compensatory gait  follows a tiered approach: mild cases are managed with conservative interventions combining physical therapy and medication; moderate cases are treated with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) combined with the Han School’s “Three-Combination Injection” for orthopedic trauma, which can reduce inflammation and repair soft tissue damage; for severe cases, minimally invasive hip arthroscopy is the treatment of choice, and the new technique of using 3D-printed surgical guides can enhance the precision of bony correction. Existing studies are limited by insufficient sample sizes, a lack of long-term follow-up data, the absence of standardized rehabilitation protocols, and the lack of comprehensive validation of digital diagnostic and therapeutic technologies. Future research should include large-scale, multicenter, controlled studies to establish standardized diagnostic, therapeutic, and rehabilitation systems, thereby refining individualized hip preservation treatment protocols.