Osteoarthritis develops secondary to the action of hostile biomechanics upon susceptible cartilage. Cam morphology describes a loss of concavity at the femoral head-neck junction resulting in femoral impaction against the acetabular rim within a functional range of movement. This impaction is termed femoroacetabular impingement and can result in pain and cause damage to adjacent articular cartilage that progresses to osteoarthritis. Cam morphology is a target for joint preservation strategies. The first study in this thesis compares hip development in academy football players with controls from local schools. The results provide strong evidence that cam morphology can develop in response to intense sporting activity during adolescence. At present, it is not possible to recommend activity modification as the cardiovascular benefits of exercise are likely to outweigh potentially detrimental effects on hip morphology. Nevertheless, individuals participating in high-level sports during youth may represent a high risk cohort for osteoarthritis warranting surveillance. Diagnostic tools currently available only allow identification of late joint degeneration when disease is irreversible. Advances in the field of disease biomarkers may overcome this challenge. The second study of this thesis explored the prognostic value of compositional MRI. Baseline delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage was able to predict the development of radiographic hip osteoarthritis in asymptomatic individuals within five years. As well as identifying individuals who are likely to benefit from intervention, compositional MRI may allow the evaluation of treatment efficacy within short timeframes. A number of interventions aimed at joint preservation are under investigation for treating cam morphology femoroacetabular impingement. Arthroscopic surgery is increasingly performed to restore the concavity at the femoral head-neck junction and prevent impaction against the acetabular rim. A feasibility study was performed for a proposed randomised controlled study comparing operative and non-operative treatment. The study protocol was developed for the 'Femoroacetabular Impingement Trial' (FAIT).
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:730338 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Palmer, Antony |
| Contributors | Carr, Andrew ; Glyn-Jones, Sion |
| Publisher | University of Oxford |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:f2d4b3b0-24b4-4053-86fe-97637cebf37d |
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