Hip pain is commonly seen in people aged 18-50 years. These people often undergo keyhole hip surgery (hip arthroscopy) for diagnosis and treatment of hip pain.

Early hip arthritis is frequently seen at surgery, and these people have more pain, worse activity and sports performance and worse quality of life up to 3 years after surgery compared to healthy controls. If factors that are associated with the progression of hip arthritis can be identified in the early stages, then the deterioration of the disease could potentially be reduced. This will have large benefits for the patient and also for society.

The primary aim of this study is to establish modifiable risk factors associated with worse pain and function over 24 months in people aged 18-50 years with early arthritis diagnosed at hip arthroscopy. Secondary aims are to determine the modifiable risk factors associated with reduced work participation and worse quality of life in the same cohort.

Staff involved: Prof Kay Crossley, Dr Joanne Kemp, Sally Coburn, Denise Jones