So What is Femoral Acetabulum Impingement (FAI)?

The basic meaning of FAI is that there are bony abnormalities of the acetabulum and/or femur which cause an impingement during movement of the hip. For the average person reading that for the first time, they are probably still none the wiser.

I have an enquiring mind , I like to know what doctors and physios are talking about,  so I got researching . I found the subject really interesting, if rather daunting when it came to  thinking about what might be wrong with me. But another part of me was feeling relieved to have finally found something that made sense and  I could research  and understand. The more I read, the more things made sense.

Here are some links to pages I first came across and which I feel explain FAI really well:

http://www.hipfai.com/

http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00571

http://www.hiparthroscopy-ireland.com/fai.html

The more I learnt about FAI, the more I felt that I needed to get a proper understanding of how the hip  works and what all these new words like labrum, abductors  & adductors, psoas etc meant. I found lots of helpful videos on YouTube but by far the best ones I found were from Anatomy Zone.  He uses 3D diagrams and has a good way of explaining things (for the way my head works anyway). Here are the links to his hip anatomy tutorials:

                              Anatomy of the Hip Joint (Anatomy Zone) -

            if the video  fails to show within this blog, please follow the link:

                 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWcdMj8wRos

 

Muscles of the Hip & gluteal - part 1 (Anatomy Zone)-

if the video does not show within the blog, follow the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXg3akhbrrg

Muscles of the Hip and gluteal region - part 2 (Anatomy Zone)-

if the video fails to show within the blog, follow the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecfssWS1aVg

 

If you are facing a diagnosis of FAI the most important piece advice I can offer is to do your research. The internet is an amazing resource. Keep typing in the key words like FAI, Hip Impingement  &  labral tears  into Google. Keep on clicking and keep on reading. Keep reading the FB group pages. Read blogs, there are lots of blogs by FAI patients, you can find them just by Googling “hip impingement FAI blog” You will find my favourite ones listed on my blog. Equip yourself with the knowledge of the anatomy of the hip and the muscles of the legs and lower back so that you know what doctors, surgeons physiotherapists are talking about. Don’t let them blind you with science. Its your body and you have a right to know what is wrong with it. Knowledge is power. It doesn’t happen overnight and takes some commitment ,but by doing it, you can take control of your FAI, be your own advocate!