Correlation Between Femoral Neck Shaft Angle and Surgical Management in Trainees With Femoral Neck Stress Fractures.

The most common overuse injury leading to medical discharge of military recruits is a stress fracture. One of the high-risk stress fractures is of the lateral femoral neck which risks osteonecrosis of the femoral head, the need for arthroplasty and permanent disability. To prevent fracture progression early surgical intervention is recommended. Surgical repairs are performed in about 25% of cases of femoral neck stress fractures at military treatment facilities. Hip geometry is an important intrinsic risk for stress fractures. Loads in the average loading direction will not cause a fracture, but loads of extreme magnitude or extreme orientation may. The purpose of this study was to determine if, in the presence of femoral neck stress fracture, there is a correlation between femoral neck shaft angle, surgical treatment and outcomes. The results of this study suggest there is no correlation between return to full military duty rates, treatment, femoral neck shaft angle or fracture grade on MRI. Patients who underwent surgical fixation had greater fracture grade and pain than those that did not have surgery. Individuals who did not return to duty tended to have higher pain scores at initial evaluation.