What is hip snap? Causes, symptoms and treatment

Among the hip injuries that can be found, snapping hip syndrome is differentiated by the symptoms it presents when performing flexion movements with the hip. For greater knowledge of snapping hip, in this post we delve into its typologies, causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment.

What does the hip spring?

Snapping hip syndrome, also known as coxa saltans, is characterized by the sensation of clicking when performing certain movements with the hip.. According to studies, snapping hip syndrome affects the 5-10% of the population and most patients experience clicking without any pain.

The groups of people who suffer the most from this injury are, mainly, those who perform repetitive wax movements, such as people who practice ballet, weightlifting, and soccer players.

On the other hand, it is the group of women between 15 and 40 years old that are most likely to have snapping hip syndrome, probably due to the anatomical alterations they experience in it.

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The most affected muscle, as in trochanteritis, is the tensor fascia lata, which originates in the pelvis and is inserted into the knee through the iliotibial band.

Specialists establish three classifications and causes of snapping hip syndrome, so it is very convenient to know the causes of each of the types of injury.

Causes of internal snapping hip

The internal snapping hip is known when the iliopsoas muscle is involved., so that it stands out on the coxal bone called the iliopctineal line, located in the anterior plane or on the femoral head.

The causes are alterations in the structure of the hip bone, anteversion of the pelvis and increased muscle tension.

Causes of external snapping hip

The most common is what is called external spring hip, due to the presence of the tense iliotibial band, causing a protrusion when performing hip flexion and extension movements. Here, a displacement of the band appears forward of the greater trochanter in flexion.

The causes of external snapping hip are very similar to those of trochanteritis, mainly due to the weakness of the abductors and the presence of a dysmetria of the lower limbs of the leg.

Hip in intra-articular spring

For its part, The intra-articular snapping hip is caused by the presence of a free intra-articular bone or cartilaginous body.. It is the most painful pathology and is accompanied by mobility blocks.

Symptoms of snapping hip

Despite only 30% of patients with snapping hips present painAmong the most characteristic symptoms of snapping hip syndrome are the following:

• Sound clicking in the hip area after performing movements such as abduction, extension and rotation of the hip.
• Increased knee flexion with projection or retractions of the quadriceps, hamstrings and psoas.
• Dissimilarity in the movement of the legs when walking.
• Hip pain at rest or when performing certain activities such as climbing stairs, jumping, getting up from a chair, etc.

Diagnosis and treatment of snapping hip syndrome

As it is an asymptomatic pathology, patients come for consultation when there is pain in the hip. At this point, it will be important to carry out an exhaustive study of it and have the hip expert determine the most appropriate treatment for each patient.

How is snapping hip diagnosed?

To diagnose the pathology of a patient with a snapping hip, the specialist will study the case through an analysis of the symptoms and a physical examination of the patient. Through an MRI, the expert will rule out any other pathology that may cause symptoms similar to snapping hip.

When this assessment is not sufficient, some exploration alternatives may be: Ober's test, whose objective is to measure the extensibility of the tensor fascia lata; the Stinchfield test, to detect intra-articular hip pathology in adults; or the Thomas test, which evaluates the different hip flexor muscles.

Spring hip treatment

As conservative treatment for spring hip, stretches of the iliotibial band and the iliopsoas muscle will be performed, along with specific medication determined by the specialist, so that physiotherapy will help accelerate the patient's improvement process.

If this does not work and the pain persists, surgical treatment of the hip will be considered, so arthroscopic procedures are chosen to avoid the complications and risks of open surgery.

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