Preliminary assessment and treatment guidelines for hip disorders in young adults.

The treatment of hip disorders in adolescents and young adults has evolved rapidly during the past decade because of enhanced understanding of prearthritic and early arthritic hip disease combined with improved diagnostic skills, better patient selection criteria, and refinements in alternative surgical procedures. Despite these advancements, the diverse clinical conditions and available surgical options highlight the need to develop optimal diagnostic and treatment guidelines for young patients with compromised hip function. Comprehensive care of young patients with hip disorders includes diverse surgical techniques such as arthroscopy, pelvic osteotomies, osteoplasty, femoral osteotomies, surgical dislocation, grafting procedures, arthrodesis, and prosthetic replacement. Optimal clinical results depend on the combination of careful patient selection and successful application of the appropriate surgical procedure. We outline general guidelines for the assessment and treatment of hip pain in young adult patients.