Prevalence of labrum and articular cartilage injuries of the hip on 3T magnetic resonance imaging of asymptomatic elite soccer players.

OBJECTIVE

To establish the prevalence of lesions of the labrum and articular cartilage of the hip in asymptomatic elite soccer players by performing 3T magnetic resonance imaging.

METHODS

Eighty-four asymptomatic hips of 42 professional soccer players were evaluated. Male subjects older than 18 years were included. Cam and pincer deformity were defined as an alpha angle greater than 55 degrees and a lateral centre edge angle greater than 39 degrees, respectively. Labral injuries were classified with the Czerny classification and cartilage damage was classified with the Outerbridge classification. Specific statistical tests were used to establish the relationship between anatomical variances of the hip and the presence of chondral and labral injuries.

RESULTS

FAI morphology prevalence was 25%. Abnormalities such as cam (22.5%) and labral injuries (33.8%) were found. Those cases with reported labral injury were predominantly intrasubstance damage (18.8%). Anatomical features of FAI were found to be related to lesions of the femoral cartilage (P<.001), chondrolabral damage (P=.042), or both injuries (P<.001).

CONCLUSION

Asymptomatic labral or cartilaginous injuries of the hip were reported in 25% of the included professional soccer players. These injuries were associated with anatomical features of FAI.