The Hip & Groin: Conditions - Glossary and Terms

• Acetabular / Acetabulum: A cup-like socket in the innominate bone (hip) into which the head of the femur fits to form the hip joint.
   
• Acute: Short and severe; not long, drawn out or chronic.
   
• Adductor: Any muscle which moves apart toward the midline of the body, e.g. the adductor muscles of the thigh.
   
• Adductor Enthesis: The specialised attachment of adductor tendon to pubic bone
   
• Adductor Enthesopathy: Painful condition of the adductor longus muscle causing groin pain.
   
• Adductor Longus: One of the adductor muscles on the inside of the thigh, chiefly implicated in adductor enthesopathy.
   
• Arthritis: Inflammation of one or more joints which swell, become warm to touch, are painful and are restricted in movement. There are many causes and the treatment varies according to the cause.
   
• Articular: Pertaining to a joint or articulation. Applied to surface, cartilage, capsule etc.
   
• Articular Cartilage: The super-smooth 'hyaline' cartilage covering the articular surfaces of a synovial joint to enable frictionless movement.
   
• Cartilage: A specialised soft-tissue in and around joints: in the hip includes articular cartilage in the hip and labral cartilage around the hip socket.
   
• Chronic: Lingering, lasting, opposed to acute. The word does not imply anything about the severity of the condition.
   
• Entheseal Pubic Cleft Injection: Injection treatment to the groin for adductor longus enthesopathy pioneered and established as a first line treatment in chronic adductor longus enthesopathy
   
• Enthesis: The specialised organ that attaches tendon to bone e.g. adductor longus enthesis, the cartilage interface between bone and tendon.
  
  
• Enthesopathy: A painful inflammatory condition, which affects the sites where tendons attach to bone (the enthesis).
   
• FAI / Femoroacetabular Impingement: A common, but previously unrecognised condition, where bony abnormalities on either side of the hip joint rub, and damage the cartilage in and around the hip.
   
• Femoral Osteoplasty: Reshaping and removal of the excess bone at the head neck junction of the femur.
   
• Fibrocartilage (partial or complete): Cartilage containing fibrous tissue.
   
• Impingement: A mechanical term implying rubbing of abnormal surfaces, e.g. Femoroacetabular Impingement.
  
  
• Labrum: Soft-tissue ring of cartilage around the hip socket, providing the stability and suction seal of the hip joint.
   
• Ligaments: Band of tough fibrous tissue which connects bones or structures together. Provides strength and support at joints.
   
• Musculo Tendinous Junction: The 'transitional' area in a muscle-tendon unit i.e. where muscle is 'becoming' tendon or vice versa.
   
• Osteoarthritis: The most common form of arthritis seen by orthopaedic surgeons. Also known as osteoarthrosis. A degenerative arthritis; may be primary, may follow injury or disease involving the articular surfaces of synovial joints. The articular cartilage becomes worn; osteophytes form and loose bodies may result. The joints most commonly affected are the knees, hips, spine and hands. There is pain, joint disruption and loss of mobility. Management includes: activity modification, physiotherapy to improve muscle strength, hydrotherapy, analgesia, NSAIDs, weight loss as appropriate, mobility aids, intra-articular injections of a corticosteroid and surgery.
   
• Synovial Joint: A freely movable joint whose cavity is lined with synovial membrane except for the articulating surfaces.
   
• Tendon: Specialised structure anchoring muscle to bone.
  
  
• Tendonitis: Inflammation of a tendon.
  
  
• Tenotomy: Division of a tendon.

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