Hip Flexor injury: Causes and Diagnosis

Hip flexor rupture or injury: Also known as: Pain of the hip bending muscles, Hipflexor injury, iliopsoas truncation, iliopsoas tearing, iliopsoas tear, hip flexor rupture  

A hip flexor rupture means that you have torn one or more muscles that bend your hip. When tearing these muscles there is a lot of pain on the front of the hip or in the groin. The injury occurs in three different degrees. This indicates the severity of the injury. In most cases, you can not complete your activity, in less severe cases this is possible.

What are signs & symptoms?

People with a hip flexor rupture feel sudden sharp pain or a pulling sensation in the groin region during the onset of injury.

  1. In less severe cases, the person can finish his activity.

      2. In serious cases, the person will not be able to complete his activity and he will not walk immediately afterwards. He experiences severe pain, muscle spasm and muscle weakness. Individuals experience an increase in pain during activities that load the hip flexors, such as: bending the hip (mainly against resistance), racing, kicking or stairs. Also, these persons often suffer from pain and stiffness while resting after the above activities. The complaints are strongly present during walking in the morning, just after getting up. During this injury, swelling, muscle spasm and blue color may develop in the lung region. The complaints may increase during stretching of the particular muscles and pushing on the affected muscle.

      3. In a grade 3 rupture, deformity is visible.

How is the diagnosis made?

Usually a history (the typical story that the patient told about his complaint) in combination with a clinical physiotherapist’s examination is sufficient to diagnose. Further research, such as an RX scan, CT scan, MRI scan or ultrasound can in some cases contribute to confirming the diagnosis, exclusion of other conditions and diagnosing the severity of the injury.

What is the forecast?

  • People with a small rupture in the muscle cure well with adequate physical therapy and return to their original (activity) level within 1-3 weeks.
  • If there is a larger crack, recovery may take 4-8 weeks or longer.
  • If there is a complete rupture, surgical intervention may be required. This is followed by intensive rehabilitation, where the return to sports or activities can take 6 months or longer.