Hip Pain in Athletes - When It is Not the Labrum

Hip pain is a relatively common complaint in sports. It is tempting to blame the athlete's symptoms on labral pathology. However, there is a high incidence of asymptomatic labral disease. Therefore, even when a labral tear is present, it may not be the underlying cause of the patient's pain. Clinicians should familiarize themselves with the large differential diagnosis for hip and pelvis pain to include nonmusculoskeletal pathology. This article reviews nonlabral causes of hip pain in athletes. For ease of classification, the hip is divided into anterior, lateral, and posterior regions.