Difficulties caused by painful movement during sexual activity are a common problem in patients with femoroacetabular impingement.
A recent study published in the journal “Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine” sought to determine the risk of impingement in patients with such problems during the most common positions of sexual activity, with the aid of three-dimensional computed tomography. The kinematics were examined before and after corrective surgery for femoroacetabular impingement.
10 computed tomography scans of the pelvis and femur were reviewed in patients with femoroacetabular impingement due to isolated cam morphology. Three-dimensional bone models were produced using dedicated software. Correction of the cam morphology was then carried out. The range of hip movement was subsequently simulated in the most common positions of sexual activity, in men and women, before and after correction of the femoroacetabular impingement lesion. Impingement was determined for each position.
There was no position that was free of impingement in all the models before correction of the cam lesion. After correction, 11 of the 29 positions in total were free of impingement. There was a significant reduction in impingement when the state before and after the corrective procedure was compared. There was a significant increase in the number of safe positions when before and after correction were compared.
The authors concluded that after correction of cam-type femoroacetabular impingement there was a significant reduction in the rate of impingement and a significant increase in the number of safe sexual positions.
Impingement in patients with cam-type morphology is common during sexual activity. Surgical correction of cam-type morphology significantly reduces the degree of impingement. Although the study was purely laboratory-based and did not include patients' symptoms, the results can be interpreted as a significant improvement in symptoms during sexual activity after surgical correction of cam-type femoroacetabular impingement.
Source: “Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine”, August 2018