Rate of radiographic hip OA in spine patients: utility of including femoral heads on plain film A/P lumbar radiographs.

The incidence of concomitant lumbar spine and hip pathology is common in referral patients to spine clinics. Differentiating between the two pathologies is a key component to the clinical practitioner’s role. At our institution, it has become routine protocol to obtain radiographs including the femoroacetabular joints on the AP and lateral views of the lumbar spine as part of the initial workup. The purpose of this study was to determine the rates of radiographic hip pathology seen on lumbar spine imaging. We report just over 25% concomitant spine and hip pathology with 25% of patients requiring further management from a hip surgeon. The studied protocol will assist in the workup of spine patients to further differentiate the intricacies of hip- and spine-related pathology.