Introduction: Annually, 300,000 soldiers are rendered medically nondeployable because of musculoskeletal injuries (MSKIs). Of this population, nearly 10,000 (3.3%) involve injuries to the hip. Factors related to these injuries impose significant healthcare, financial, and readiness burdens on the Army system, degrading overall mission readiness. The purpose of this retrospective study was to assess for correlation between increased anterior pelvic tilt and a lower likelihood for return to duty/return to run (RTD/RTR) in active duty personnel who underwent hip arthroscopy for femoroacetabular impingement (FAI), thus identifying increased anterior pelvic tilt as a potential prognostic indicator for RTD/RTR.
Materials and methods: Ninety-two active duty U.S. Army service members aged 18 years or older who underwent hip arthroscopy for FAI at the William Beaumont Army Medical Center from September 1, 2014, to September 1, 2019, were included. Utilizing a retrospective review of existing data, the amount of anterior pelvic tilt, as estimated on a presurgical weight-bearing anterior-posterior pelvis radiograph using the distance from the pubic symphysis to the transischial line, was measured and compared to postoperative RTD/RTR statuses, assessing for correlation.
Results: The overall RTD rate was 39.1% with a 22.8% RTR rate. Only 6.5% (6/92) of subjects returned to full, unrestricted duty and running. Logistic regression analyses showed that individuals with increased anterior pelvic tilt (≥7°) were 2.6 times less likely to RTD and 2.9 times less likely to RTR compared to those with minimal or no anterior pelvic tilt (<7°) (respectively, odds ratio (OR) 2.619; 95% CI, 1.107-6.195; P = .029 and OR 2.897; 95% CI, 1.041-8.059; P = .042). Results support the study teams' hypothesis that increased anterior pelvic tilt is associated with a lower odds of RTD/RTR.
Conclusions: Statistical analysis confirmed the correlation between an increased amount of anterior pelvic tilt and a lower odds of RTD and RTR after hip arthroscopy for FAI in active duty U.S. Army personnel. This information can be used in patient counseling to better inform shared decision-making, provide more thorough informed consent, and help determine the optimal timing for surgical intervention, thus contributing to better stewardship of medical resources and decreasing the ever-growing financial healthcare burden. These findings will spur future research to consider the causes and optimal treatment of anterior pelvic tilt, positively impacting the culture of Army medicine by focusing on preventive and targeted treatments in order to preserve and grow the force.
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