Hip impingement syndrome is a condition of the hip that causes hip pain in young adults.

The signs and symptoms of hip impingement syndrome are:

1) Hip pain or clicking, catching or stiffness

2) Restricted range of hip movement

3) Lack of hip osteoarthritis and presence of certain types of hip shapes seen on x-rays

Another name for hip impingement syndrome is femoroacetabular impingement syndrome. The condition was first described in 2003, and since then increasing numbers of patients have been treated with surgery. 

Hip impingement syndrome is still not clearly understood and may be associated with an increased risk of hip osteoarthritis.

We are carrying out the Hips study to try to understand hip impingement syndrome better. We want to know:

- how common hip impingement syndrome is;

- how common certain hip shapes seen on x-rays are; and

- whether there is a link between certain hip shapes and hip pain.

To answer these questions, we will use existing data and x-rays from the Somerset and Avon Survey of Health (SASH). The SASH study collected data between 1993-1995 and 2002-2003.

We will ensure that the SASH data is used in a way that cannot identify participants. We will remove all information that could identify participants (such as name and address) from the SASH data and replace it with a unique participant number.

The analysis of the SASH data will be conducted at the University of Bristol. It will be supervised by the Chief Investigator of the SASH study, who is also a Co-Investigator of this study.