Clinical Features That Predict the Need for Operative Intervention

Background: Gluteus medius tears are a common cause of lateral hip pain. Operative intervention is usually prescribed for patients with pain despite physical therapy and/or peritrochanteric injections. Purpose: To identify clinical features that predict operative intervention in gluteus medius tears. Study Design: Case control study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: A matched-pair controlled study was conducted on patients who underwent endoscopic gluteus medius repairs from June 2008 to August 2014 for full-thickness tears. The exclusion criterion was previous hip disorders (eg, Legg-Calve-Perthes disease, avascular necrosis). The control group contained patients with full-thickness gluteus medius tears on magnetic reso-nance imaging (MRI) who did not require operative intervention. Both groups had a minimum trial of 3 months of nonoperative management. Matching criteria included age within 5 years, sex, and body mass index (BMI) class. The following clinical parameters were analyzed: presence of lateral-sided hip pain, duration of symptoms, power of resisted hip abduction, gait deviation (antalgic or Trendelenburg), greater trochanter tenderness, and hip passive range of abduction. Results: Twenty-four patients who underwent isolated endoscopic gluteus medius repairs were identified; all patients were females, with a mean age of 65 years (range, 52-82 years) and mean BMI of 29.2 kg/m2 (range, 21.55-44.398 kg/m2). The matched control cohort contained 12 females treated nonoperatively for gluteus medius tears with mean age of 66 years (range, 52-81 years) and mean BMI of 29.9 kg/m2 (range, 20.20-43.59 kg/m2). There were significant differences between the groups in power o