2016 international consensus on femoroacetabular impingement syndrome: the Warwick Agreement—why does it matter?

Femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAIS) is a common cause of hip pain in young and middle-aged adults. It is one of the hot topics in sports medicine, and debate among surgeons, sports physicians and physiotherapists is ongoing. The rate of diagnosis and treatment of FAIS has exploded in the past decade, with rates of hip arthroscopy increasing by almost 400% over this time.1 ,2 Such a rapid increase in diagnosis and treatment can inevitably lead to a backlash, with claims by sceptics of overdiagnosis, over treatment and a lack of evidence. While there may be some truth in these claims, such scepticism can cause people to question whether FAIS exists. Given this, it is important to understand what FAIS is, whether it is a problem and why we need a consensus statement. FAIS refers to the intra-articular pathology and subsequent symptoms and signs that develop in susceptible individuals when the femoral and acetabular components of the hip repetitively and prematurely abut against each other.3 ,4 Typically, …