Researchers recently presented new data at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), which suggests that excessive high impact sport activities may impair the long-term success of hip resurfacing arthroplasty.

According to researchers, 445 patients were surveyed between one and 5 years following hip resurfacing. Researchers say that the types of activity the patients engaged in, as well as frequency and duration of the sessions, and intensity, were documented during the study. The status of each patient’s hip was reportedly monitored over the next 10 years. Researchers indicate that the mean age of study participants was aged 49 years and 74% were male. Researchers also note a parallel between higher rates of activity and higher potential for surgical revision. The study suggests that other independent surgical risk factors included small component size, low body mass index, and first generation surgical technique. 

The results indicate that patients with an Impact Score (IS) lower than 50 exhibited a surgical revision risk four times lower than patients with an IS of 50 or more. The results also suggest that the survival of the hip resurfacing arthroplasty was 96% for patients with a lower IS score at 8 years, compared to 89% survivorship in patients with a higher IS score at 8 years.

In light of the study’s results, researchers recommend that surgeons advise patients to limit physical activities to levels that the device can sustain, to ensure the long-term success of the hip resurfacing arthroplasty.

Source: AAOS