Ligamentous Injuries of the Hip

Ligamentous injuries generally account for roughly 50% of musculoskeletal injuries (Leong et al. J Orthop Res 38(1):7–12. https://doi.org/10.1002/jor.24475 , 2020). Although many of these injuries do heal with conservative care, they still carry a huge financial burden of roughly 40 billion dollars in health care costs annually (Leong et al. J Orthop Res 38(1):7–12. https://doi.org/10.1002/jor.24475 , 2020). The importance of quality assessment and care of these sprains in the athletic population cannot be stressed enough to avoid poor tissue healing and chronic pain. Ligamentous hip injuries are not as robustly researched as one would think. With so many of the injuries to the hip preceded by hip joint laxity, increased joint play, or instability, it should be one of the first things we address in our assessment of the athlete with a hip injury. This is because, with increased joint play present, even the best rehabilitation, recovery, or return to sport plan will fail. For this reason, we will spend this chapter reviewing the ligaments of the hip and how to assess each one.