Lateral Hip Pain: Findings From Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Clinical Examination

Study Design Prospective cross-sectional study. Objectives To examine the radiological and physical therapy diagnoses of lateral hip pain (LHP), and to determine the validity of selected clinical variables for predicting gluteal tendon pathology. Background LHP is frequently encountered by clinicians. Further investigation is required to establish the specific pathologies implicated in the cause of LHP and which clinical tests are useful in the assessment of this problem. Methods and Measures Forty patients with unilateral LHP underwent a physical therapy examination followed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies. Three radiologists analyzed the images of both hips for signs of pathology. Interobserver reliability of the image analyses, the agreement between the physical therapy and radiological diagnoses, and the validity of the clinical tests were examined. Results Gluteus medius tendon pathology, bursitis, osteoarthritis, and gluteal muscle atrophy (predominantly affecting gluteus minimus) were a...