Mild bilateral CAM impingement but no labral tear—would you see a hip preservation specialist or just do PT?
I'm 35 and recently had MRIs of both hips.
The findings were:
- Mild bilateral CAM-type femoroacetabular impingement (alpha angle ~75–76°)
- No labral tear
- No cartilage damage
- No arthritis
- No bursitis
- Muscles and tendons are normal
Overall, my MRI seems pretty reassuring aside from the CAM morphology.
The thing that's confusing me is that I don't have severe day-to-day hip pain.
Instead, my symptoms are mostly related to hip motion:
- I can't comfortably bring my knees to my chest.
- Deep squats are very difficult.
- Pigeon pose and child's pose are both really limited.
- Deep hip flexion feels like something is physically blocking or pinching.
- Sitting for long periods can make my hips feel uncomfortable.
I also have chronic low back pain (I've had lumbar spine surgery), so I'm aware some of this could be related to my back as well.
My question is: If you had these MRI findings but relatively mild pain, what would you do?
Would you:
- Start with FAI-specific physical therapy?
- See a hip preservation orthopedic surgeon even if surgery isn't on your radar?
- Just modify activities and live with it?
For anyone with mild CAM impingement and no labral tear, did PT improve your range of motion at all? Or is the limited motion mostly due to the bone shape and something you just learn to work around?
I'd also love to hear if anyone had similar symptoms where stiffness and limited mobility were a bigger issue than pain.
Thanks!