Ischiofemoral impingement syndrome: A five-case series report

Gluteal pain is a frequent cause of medical attention in the daily clinical practice. It can be caused by multiple pathologies, being ischiofemoral impingement syndrome among those included in its differential diagnosis. Encompassed within the deep gluteal syndromes, this entity occurs as a consequence of the entrapment of the neuromuscular structures between the lesser femoral trochanter and the ischial tuberosity, causing pain in the root of the lower limb, with irradiation towards the thigh or the gluteal region and poor tolerance to deambulation and sedestation. The magnetic resonance imaging of the hip is fundamental for its diagnosis, and its management consists on medical treatment at onset. Despite not being a frequent diagnosis in the clinical practice in Rheumatology, keeping it in mind helps improving its prognosis by establishing an early and adequate treatment.

Treatment strategies for ischiofemoral impingement: a systematic review

PURPOSE

There has been relatively little information about the treatment for ischiofemoral impingement (IFI) because of its rarity as well as the uncertainty of diagnosis. The aim of this study was to provide the reader with the available treatment strategies and their related outcomes for IFI based on the best available evidence, whilst highlighting classically accepted ways of treatment as well as relatively new surgical and non-surgical techniques.

METHODS

A systematic review of the literature from Medline, Embase, AMED, Cochrane and Google Scholar was undertaken since inception to December 2017 following the PRISMA guidelines. Clinical outcome studies, prospective/retrospective case series and case reports that described the treatment outcome for IFI were included. Animal or cadaveric studies, trial protocols, diagnostic studies without any description of treatments, technical notes without any results, and review articles were excluded.

RESULTS

This systematic review found 17 relevant papers. No comparative studies were included in the final records for qualitative assessment, which means all the studies were case series and case reports. Eight studies (47.1%) utilised non-surgical treatment including injection and prolotherapy, followed by endoscopic surgery (5 studies, 29.4%) then open surgery (4 studies, 23.5%). Mean age of the participants was 41 years (11-72 years). The mean follow-up was 8.4 months distributed from 2 weeks to 2.3 years. No complications or adverse effects were found from the systematic review.

CONCLUSION

Several treatment strategies have been reported for IFI, and most of them have good short- to medium-term outcomes with a low rate of complications. However, there are no comparative studies to assess the superiority of one technique over another, thus further research with randomised controlled trials is required in this arena. This study explores the wide variety and categories of different treatments used for IFI to guide physicians and shed light on what can be done for this challenging cohort of patients.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

III.

Results of the Sugioka transtrochanteric rotational osteotomy for osteonecrosis: Frequency and role of a defect of the quadratus femoris muscle in osteonecrosis progression

BACKGROUND

During transtrochanteric rotational osteotomy (RO), it is important to preserve the posterior column artery (PCA), which is generally located in the adipose tissue underneath the quadratus femoris muscle (QF). If there is a defect in the QF, the risk of injuring the PCA, subsequently resulting in total necrosis of the femoral head, may increase. Therefore, we investigated: (1) the frequency of defects of the QF at the time of RO, and (2) clinical outcome of RO based upon a defect of the QF.

HYPOTHESIS

The presence of defects of the QF at the time of RO could be detected pre-operatively by magnetic resonance imaging.

METHODS

RO was performed in 124 hips between 2001 and 2010. In all, 95 of the hips were in male patients and 29 in female patients. The mean age was 45.4 years (range: 11-61 years) at the time of surgery and MRI was performed before RO in all cases. We retrospectively evaluated the progression of a collapse through 3 years after RO.

RESULTS

MRI showed a defect in the QF in four hips (3.2%) (2 males, 2 females), all of which were confirmed intra-operatively. Among the four patients, one (25%) underwent total hip arthroplasty because of varus deformity of the osteotomy site due to total necrosis of the femoral head 1 year after RO. The 120 hips with a normal QF showed no evidence of total necrosis or progression of necrosis of the femoral head, indicating that the presence of defects of the QF may increase the risk of poor survivorship of this procedure.

CONCLUSIONS

Defects of the QF have been reported to occur in 1-2% of all patients, whereas in our study the incidence in ON was approximately 3%. In ON patients with QF defects, pre-operative MRI evaluation of the QF appears to be important when planning RO, followed by a carefully performed surgical procedure.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

IV; retrospective case series without control group.

Assessment of total hip arthroplasty as a predisposing factor for ischiofemoral impingement

OBJECTIVE

To examine the effect of total hip arthroplasty (THA) on ischiofemoral (IF) and quadratus femoris (QF) spaces with the hypothesis that THA does not affect ischiofemoral relationships.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study was IRB approved and complied with HIPAA guidelines. We identified consecutive MR examinations (pelvis and/or hip) obtained at our institution in adults (≥18 years old) screened for THA-related complications. Native hips from the same individuals served as controls. We collected medical record data including age, gender, surgical history, and THA designs. Two radiologists independently measured the IF-RAD and IF-MRI (IF space on radiographs and MR imaging, respectively) and QF space (on MR imaging). Groups were compared using ANCOVA controlled for gender.

RESULTS

The study group comprised 250 hips (132 subjects; 162 post-THA and 88 native hips). Subjects were aged 59 ± 10 years, with 66 males and 66 females. Comparison of IF-MRI and QF spaces between native and post-THA hips showed no differences (P > 0.12) and IF-RAD was higher in post-THA subjects (P = 0.01). No differences in the IF-MRI and QF spaces were present between native hips and different THA designs (P > 0.4). IF-RAD of metal-on-metal THA was higher than that of native hips (P = 0.01) and trended higher than ceramic-on-polyethylene THA (P = 0.08), with the remaining comparisons showing no significant differences (P > 0.4).

CONCLUSIONS

Radiographic- and MRI-based measures in patients with standard THA do not show narrowing of IF and QF spaces.