Makes you wonder if Danny's hip problem is related to this FAI... --------------------------------------
It may be the new OP, but it ain't so hip
Emma Quayle | March 23, 2008
ALMOST 10 years ago, Matthew Knights spent an entire pre-season doing … not much, really.
The Richmond captain was one of the early victims of osteitis pubis, the mysterious groin complaint that limited his running, hurt when he kicked and soon became one of football's buzz terms. 'OP' was the new footballers' scourge, and it still strikes them down.
Now, there is a new threat. Its name is femoroacetabular impingement — FAI — and it is a hip condition that affects young and active people, and that may be the leading cause of many cases of OP, not to mention chronic hip injuries, adductor problems and even back pain.
one of Australia's leading hip experts, John O'Donnell, believes it will be the next big thing on the AFL injury scene. "FAI," he said, "is the new OP."
FAI is caused by a small, bony bump on the 'ball' part of the 'ball and socket' hip joint — the head of the femur. Orthopedic experts are still not sure whether the bumps — known as Ganz lesions or femoral neck bumps — exist from birth, but O'Donnell suspects they develop in early teenage years, as people become more active.
A lesion can sit there for years, possibly forever if a person isn't particularly active, and not do anything at all. But if it starts to grind into the cartilage lining either the 'ball' or the 'socket', it will cause irreversible damage, and inevitable arthritis — be it one month down the track, two years or 10 years. For a footballer, that is time lost off a career.
O'Donnell believes there would be four or five players on each AFL list with the condition; the demands of the sport — to run, twist and most particularly, kick the ball across the body — promote that sort of movement and friction in the hip.
Once detected, the lesions can be removed with a simple arthroscopy, which might mean eight to 12 weeks on the sidelines. O'Donnell deals with about 10 FAI cases a week, and has seen some people up and running in six weeks.
"Since we've been taking the bumps off, which is about six years, with very few exceptions they don't come back. At least so far. At the very least it gets them from two years to six years, and hopefully a whole lot longer. That's what we'll find out."
That, then, poses another question. If a player has a lesion, but is not symptomatic, what do you do? Carlton faced that question last November when it drafted Matthew Kreuzer knowing he has a lesion on his right hip but also knowing it had not begun to grind into his cartilage. He wasn't injured, but he had something that could cause injury.
Through the AFL's draft camp medical screening, the teenager consulted a specialist who recommended he continue to train and play but predicted he would need surgery in the first two years of his career. Knowing he has the condition at least means the Blues can monitor it — a better alternative than having their No. 1 draft pick break down and lose years off his career.
Full article at:
http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/it-may-be-the-new-op-but-it-aint-so-hip/2008/03/22/1205602735958.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
