Athletes who undergo complete capsular closure after hip arthroscopy had a faster return to play and higher rate of return than those with no closure of the capsule, according to new findings.
The study, “Hip Arthroscopy in the High-Level Athlete: Does Capsular Closure Make a Difference?” was published online on July 15, 2020 in The American Journal of Sports Medicine.
While hip arthroscopy has been shown to be effective in athletes with femoral acetabular impingement and labral tearing, how complete capsular closure or no closure afterwards effects return to play hasn’t been explored until now.
The researchers performed a non-randomized retrospective review on 111 athletes who had undergone hip arthroscopy by one high volume hip surgeon.
The athletes, which include high school, collegiate and professional players, were divided into two groups: complete capsular closure group (62) and non-capsular closure group (49) after hip arthroscopy.
They were followed for a minimum of 2 years. Rate and time to return to play were compared between the two groups. Patient-reported outcomes included modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS), Hip Outcome Score Activities of Daily Living (HOS-ADL), and Hip Outcome Score Sport-Specific Subscale (HOS-SSS).
Overall, a high percentage in the complete capsular closure group returned to play compared to the non-capsular closure group (90.3% vs. 75.5%, respectively; p = .03). The complete capsular closure group returned to play at a mean ±SD of 4.7±1.9 months compared with 5.8±2.6 months in the non-capsular group (p < .001).
The athletes who had the complete capsular closure also met the patient-reported outcomes at a higher rate, although the difference between the two groups was only statistically significant for the modified Harris Hip Score and the Hip Outcome Score Activities of Daily Living.
The researchers wrote, “Complete capsular closure after hip arthroscopy was associated with faster return to play and a higher rate of return compared with that of nonclosure of the capsule in this sample population of high-level athletes. At a minimum 2-year follow-up, complete capsular closure was associated with significantly higher patient-reported outcomes compared with those of nonclosure in athletes who underwent hip arthroscopy.”
