Skip to main content

Transient Osteoporosis of the Hip, Sports Medicine

Uziel Sauceda, MD, ABFM certified and Eric Yuan, MD Reviewed 04/2019
 


BASICS

DESCRIPTION

  • Transient osteoporosis of the hip (TOH) is a clinical presentation of acute hip pain, characterized by bone marrow edema of the femoral head, bone resorption, and subsequent resoluti...

DIAGNOSIS

Note that TOH is diagnosis of exclusion; therefore, a thorough evaluation for more common etiologies is warranted. 

HISTORY

  • Often spontaneous onset of acute unilateral or bilateral hip pain wi...

TREATMENT

GENERAL MEASURES

  • The majority have self-limited course and complete resolution with conservative management within 6 mo (ranges from 4 to 12 mo).

  • Analgesia should be tailored to individual; ma...

ONGOING CARE

FOLLOW-UP RECOMMENDATIONS

  • Follow-up MRI usually done; timing of repeat study uncertain; not unreasonable to repeat at 6 mo

  • Weight-bearing activity as tolerated; unclear when high impact act...

REFERENCES

1
Vaishya R, Agarwal AK, Kumar V, et al. Transient osteoporosis of the hip: a mysterious cause of hip pain in adults. Indian J Orthop.  2017;51(4):455–460.
2
Patel S. Primary bone marrow ...

ADDITIONAL READING

  • Diwanji SR, Cho YJ, Xin ZF, et al. Conservative treatment for transient osteoporosis of the hip in middle-aged women. Singapore Med J.  2008;49(1):e17–e21.

  • Fessel J. There are m...

CLINICAL PEARLS

  • TOH is a diagnosis of exclusion; evaluate for common causes of hip pain before diagnosing.

  • MRI is imaging modality of choice and is able to distinguish between AVN and TOH.

  • Most patients...

Subscribe to Access Full Content

Sign Up for a 10-Day Free Trial

Sign up for a 10-day FREE Trial now and receive full access to all content.

×