Abstract
PURPOSE: To investigate the prevalence of asymptomatic hip joint abnormalities among adult professional soccer players and to determine the relationship between the number of these abnormalities with age and limb dominance as well as the relationship between those abnormalities themselves. METHODS: Adult male professional soccer players from 1 top-division soccer club in a European country underwent magnetic resonance imaging using 1.5 Tesla scanners, the results of which were analyzed independently by 2 experienced radiologists. The incidence of hip osteoarthritis according to the Kellgren-Lawrence and Scoring Hip Osteoarthritis Using MRI classifications, femoroacetabular impingement, hip dysplasia, and presence of os acetabuli was analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 47 patients were included (age 24.5 ± 5.4 years, height 181.5 ± 5.7 cm, body mass index 22.8 ± 1.3). One to 5 magnetic resonance imaging abnormalities were detected in 63 (67%) hip joints. Osteoarthritis of the first and second degree was determined in 46.8% and 18.1% of all hip joints accordingly. The overall prevalence of femoroacetabular impingement was 32%, with pincer-type femoroacetabular impingement occurring in 27.7% of cases, cam type in 11.7%, and mixed type in 6.4% of images. These abnormalities were not related to the dominant leg. Significant correlations were found between cam-type femoroacetabular impingement and osteoarthritis (P = .007), as well as between pincer-type femoroacetabular impingement and osteoarthritis (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Femoroacetabular impingement was found among one-third of the soccer players with no hip complaints. Additionally, a correlation between the presence of femoroacetabular impingement and hip osteoarthritis was observed. However, these abnormalities do not appear to be associated with leg dominance. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV, prognostic study.