A Review of Abductor Tendon Tears: The Hidden Lesion of the Hip

Spine-Abductor Syndrome: Novel Associations Between Lumbar Spine Disease and Hip Gluteal Muscle Pathology

BACKGROUND

Risk factors for gluteal tears include age-related deterioration, female sex, and increased body mass index. As the literature that supports the sagittal relationship between the lumbar spine and the hip is increasing, there may be a parallel relationship between the perturbations in spinopelvic alignment caused by lumbar spine disease and gluteal muscle tears. Because no prior studies other than single-institution series have reported on this phenomenon, we investigated spine-abductor syndrome at the population level.

METHODS

This study utilized TriNetX, a federated research network that continuously aggregates deidentified electronic health record data from >92 million patients across the United States. The relative risks of gluteal tear encounter diagnoses and procedures were calculated for patients with and without the following characteristics: age ≥45 years, female sex, obesity, lumbar spine diagnoses, lumbar spine injections, and lumbar spine surgery. Utilizing the Cox proportional hazard model, we also analyzed gluteal tear-free survival over a period of ≥10 years in subgroups of patients who had been diagnosed with lumbar pathology, had been administered a lumbar injection, or had received lumbar surgery.

RESULTS

Of the 8,475,800 patients who had received lumbar spine diagnoses, undergone lumbar injections, and/or undergone lumbar surgeries, 458,311 patients (5.4%) had gluteal tears, representing a relative risk of 13.6 (95% confidence interval [CI]:13.6 to 13.6). After controlling for age, sex, and obesity, survival analysis showed markedly increased hazard ratios (HRs) for patients having a gluteal tear encounter diagnosis in the intervening 13 years (2010 to 2023) if they had had a previous lumbar spine pathology encounter diagnosis (HR: 4.8, 95% CI: 4.5 to 5.1), had undergone lumbar spine injections (HR: 7.7, 95% CI: 6.2 to 9.5), or had undergone lumbar spine surgery (HR: 6.6, 95% CI: 5.3 to 8.1) in 2010.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest a strong association between lumbar spine pathology and abductor tears. Further biomechanical and neuroanatomic studies may elucidate the effects of lumbar spine disease in relation to gluteal tears. Additionally, there may be a need to optimize diagnostic protocols for lateral hip pain in patients with a history of lumbar spine disease.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Prognostic Level III . See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

MR Imaging Diagnosis of Greater Trochanteric Syndrome

Greater trochanteric syndrome (GTS) is a common condition clinically manifested by pain and tenderness over the greater trochanter. MR imaging plays a pivotal role in investigating the underlying cause of GTS. MR imaging can detect abnormalities not only in symptomatic but also in asymptomatic hips, thereby revealing structural damage in the gluteal tendons and muscles during both clinical and preclinical phases. This review article emphasizes the importance of detailed knowledge of anatomy of the greater trochanter and adjacent soft tissues, along with the imaging appearance of pathology of the abductor tendons and muscles as well as the peritrochanteric bursae.

Association between abductor tears and hip pathology: A nationwide large cohort study

Introduction

Although gluteal tears have been observed in a substantial percentage of total hip arthroplasty (THA) patients and hip osteoarthritis (OA) has been shown to alter the function of the gluteal muscles, the association between gluteal tears and hip OA has not been characterized. Therefore, we evaluated (1) the overlap between hip OA and gluteal tears, (2) the relative risks of gluteal tears in patients who have hip OA, and (3) gluteal tear-free survival after diagnosis or treatment for hip osteoarthritis.

Methods

This retrospective study sourced data from TriNetX, a research network that aggregates data from over 92 million patients. Relative risks for gluteal tears were calculated for known risk factors for gluteal tears, age ≥45 years, female sex, and obesity, as well as for hip OA, hip injections, and THA. A subgroup analysis was performed utilizing a Cox proportional hazard model for patients who were diagnosed with hip OA, received a hip injection, or underwent THA in 2015 to assess gluteal tear-free survival over a 9-year timeframe.

Results

There was a large degree of overlap between patients with hip OA and gluteal tears, as 17.9% of patients with hip OA and 27.5% of patients with a gluteal tear also had the other pathology. Hip OA was associated with a markedly increased risk of a gluteal tear compared to healthy controls (Relative risk: 26.75, 95% CI: 26.64-26.86). Upon controlling for the established risk factors of gluteal tears, patients with hip OA had a markedly more likely to subsequently be diagnosed with an abductor tear (Hazard ratio: 12.46, 95% CI: 11.75-13.22).

Conclusion

Overall, these findings suggest a strong association between hip OA and the development of gluteal tears, in which further investigation is merited to determine the biomechanical pathophysiology underlying this potential relationship to inform prevention and treatment strategies.

Surgical Treatment and Outcomes for Gluteal Tendon Tears

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Gluteus medius and minimus tears, or hip abductor tendon tears, are increasingly identified as a source of lateral hip pain. Once underappreciated and undertreated, they are now recognized as a cause of greater trochanteric pain syndrome and a pathology amenable to both nonoperative and operative modalities. This review summarizes relevant anatomy, clinical presentation, and treatment options for gluteus medius tears, focusing on surgical options.

RECENT FINDINGS

When surgical intervention is indicated, repair, reconstruction, or tendon transfer may be considered. Open and endoscopic repair techniques demonstrate similar outcomes with improvements in patient-reported outcomes and low complication and retear rates for both partial and full thickness tears. Variations in fixation construct and graft augmentations have been described, though clinical evidence remains limited to support specific techniques. Gluteus maximus transfer via open approach is a salvage option for the severely atrophied, retracted, or revision gluteus tendon; however, persistent limitations in abduction strength and gait abnormalities are common. Emerging evidence continues to evolve our understanding of surgical decision-making for gluteus tendon tears. The current literature supports either open or endoscopic repair techniques and open tendon transfer as a salvAage option. Further study is needed to determine the optimal fixation construct, the role of graft augmentation, and patient-related factors that influence postoperative outcomes.

Good clinical outcomes, a high level of patient satisfaction and an acceptable re-operation rate are observed 7-10 years after augmented hip abductor tendon repair

PURPOSE

To investigate the clinical outcome, level of patient satisfaction, re-injury and re-operation rates of patients 7-10 years after augmented hip abductor tendon repair.

METHODS

Between October 2012 and May 2015, 146 patients were referred to the senior author with symptomatic hip abductor tendon tears, of which 110 (101 female, 92%) were included in the current study and underwent hip abductor tendon repair augmented with LARS. Patients had a mean age of 63.2 years (range 43-82), body mass index of 27.8 (range 20.0-40.2) and duration of symptoms of 3.6 years (range 6 months-18 years). Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) were evaluated pre-operatively and at 3, 6, 12 and 24 months, as well as 7-10 years post-operatively, including the Oxford Hip Score (OHS), 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12), a Visual Analogue Pain Scale (VAS) evaluating the frequency (VAS-F) and severity (VAS-S) of hip pain, and patient satisfaction. Adverse events, surgical failures, revisions and subsequent treatments on the ipsilateral hip were reported.

RESULTS

A significant improvement (p < 0.05) was observed for all PROMs and, while a mean deterioration was observed for all PROMs from 24 months to final review (7-10 years), these were not significant (n.s.). In the 90 patients retained and assessed at final review, 93% were satisfied with their hip pain relief and 89% with their ability to participate in recreational activities. Overall, 9 (of 110, 8.2%) surgical failures were observed over the 7-10-year follow-up period.

CONCLUSIONS

Good clinical scores, a high level of patient satisfaction and an acceptable re-injury rate were observed at 7-10 years after augmented hip abductor tendon repair, demonstrating satisfactory repair longevity.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

IV.