Structured training volume in early adolescence: a risk factor for femoroacetabular impingement?

Introduction: To determine whether athletes undergoing surgical intervention for FAI completed more hours of structured training in adolescence than matched healthy athletes. Methods: Sixty-seven athletes (25.53 ± 4.8 years) undergoing surgical intervention for symptomatic FAI were asked to recall the number of hours engaged in structured training between the ages of 10-12 and 13-15 years old (FAI group). Results were compared to an age (24.56 ± 4.5 years), gender and activity level matched control group (n=71) with no history of chronic hip/groin pain or hip stiffness and who were currently engaged in similar levels of training and competition. Results: The FAI group reported significantly more structured training hours between the ages of 10-12 years than controls (6.55 ± 3.1 versus 5.69 ± 3.7 hrs/week, p=0.02) but no differences were observed for training volume between the ages of 13-15 years (8.45 ± 3.4 vs 8.03 ± 3.7 hrs/week, p=.397). Conclusion: Higher volumes of structured training in early adolescence are a potential risk factor for the development of symptomatic FAI later in the player pathway. Level of evidence: IV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]