Caring Medical
& Rehabilitation Services
715 Lake Street, Suite 600
Oak Park, Illinois 60301
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Snapping Hip Syndrome is a clinical entity that causes pain and snapping in the hip joint. There are several known causes, the most common being the iliotibial band snapping over the greater trochanter. It can also be caused by snapping of the iliopsoas tendon over the iliopectineal line, the iliofemoral ligaments over the femoral head, the long head of the biceps femoris tendon over the ischial tuberosity, as well as by certain intra-articular pathology.

The most common cause of snapping hip is when the iliotibial band slides over the greater trochanter. This is common in ballet dancers and runners. The gluteal muscles can also make a snapping sound as they go over the greater trochanter. The psoas tendon also causes snapping hip as it passes over the hip joint, producing pain with hip flexion. The question to ask is why is this happening? The psoas tendon is in the front of the hip joint, the gluteal muscles are over the hip joint, and the iliotibial band (tensor fascia lata) is on the side of the hip joint, yet all of these structures are considered part of the problem? We don't think so! The typical approach to Snapping Hip Syndrome is to blame it on overtraining and tight muscles. So anti-inflammatories and cortisone shots are given and the athlete must immediately stop training. Some people get better, some do not. The ones who avoid surgery get better. During surgery the tendons that are "tight" are lengthened. Most do not do well after this surgery. There must be a better way.

Hip joint ligament weakness causes excessive movement of the hip joint. Athletic events put tremendous strains on the hip joint, especially those sports that involve collisions. Even sports such as running put 4.5 to 5 times the body weight through the joint with each step. It would make sense that a long distance runner would eventually develop laxity in the hip joint over the years. This ligament weakness in the hip would cause excessive movement of the hip and thus the greater trochanter, since they are connected. This excessive movement of the greater trochanter would then encroach on the iliotibial band or gluteal muscles, causing a snapping sound. If the hip joint laxity caused the hip to move forward it would encroach on the psoas muscle, causing hip snapping with movement of this muscle (hip flexion). It is easier to explain Snapping Hip Syndrome as one hip problem versus three separate muscle problems. This also explains the dramatic results seen with treating Snapping Hip Syndrome with Prolotherapy. Prolotherapy is our treatment of choice for Snapping Hip Syndrome because it gets at the root cause of the problem, which is hip ligament laxity. Prolotherapy to the posterior hip capsule and ischiofemoral ligaments generally resolves the problem if the condition involves snapping of the iliotibial band or gluteal muscles, because posterior hip laxity is involved in these conditions. In psoas-muscle-related Snapping Hip Syndrome, the hip joint is moving anteriorly, encroaching on the muscle. Prolotherapy to the anterior hip ligaments, namely the iliofemoral ligament (Y ligament of Bigelow), will tighten the joint and stop the anterior protrusion of the hip. Prolotherapy is extremely effective at permanently resolving Snapping Hip Syndrome because it repairs the underlying etiology of the problem, hip ligament laxity.

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