What's Happening

Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) happens when the ball and socket of the hip meet in a way that pinches the labrum (the joint's cartilage rim) — usually with deep bending, squatting, or pivoting. It typically causes deep-seated groin pain, sometimes with clicking, and can radiate to the side of the hip, buttock, or low back.

Cam Type

  • The femoral head/neck isn't perfectly round

  • More common in men and field-sport athletes

  • Impingement occurs mainly with deep flexion

Pincer Type

  • The socket rim covers the femoral head too much

  • More common in women

  • Often mixed with cam changes in the same hip

A Key Fact: Shape Isn't Destiny

50–70% of athletes have cam or pincer morphology on imaging with zero pain — so the bony shape alone doesn't determine your symptoms. Hip and core strength, movement patterns, and how you load the joint matter just as much, which is exactly what rehab addresses.

How We Treat It

  1. Calm the irritation — activity and positional modification to avoid provoking deep-flexion positions.

  2. Supervised hip and core strengthening — shown to outperform unsupervised home programs, and the backbone of conservative care.

  3. Retrain movement patterns — squat, hinge, and pivot mechanics that keep pressure off the impinging position.

  4. Progress back to sport gradually, guided by symptoms rather than a fixed timeline.

Bottom line: By two years out, research shows little difference between surgery and a well-run conservative program for most people — making structured PT a smart, lower-risk first step for FAI-related hip pain.