Muscle ruptures in posterior hip dislocation—a case report

Posterior hip dislocations are the most common luxation types of the hip joint and a well-known and well-described condition. However, we report a case of posterior hip luxation with a series of posttraumatic muscular disorders that were difficult to identify and have not been described previously in scientific literature. We performed clinical and radiological follow-up of an individual for a period of over 19 months post trauma. Informed consent for the anonymized publication of this case was received from the patient. The presented patient is a 20-year-old female, athletic individual in generally good health condition. Our patient suffered from a posterior hip dislocation after a skiing accident on an iced slope. Posttraumatic follow-up was performed owing to persistent moderate hip pain. The patient underwent several experts’ consultations as well as two MRI examinations at 2 months and 19 months after the skiing trauma. Both of the MRIs showed several ruptured parts of the periarticular musculature. At the second MRI, additional compensatory hypertrophy of the piriformis muscle was detected. This report clearly illustrates the importance of profound anatomical knowledge of the surrounding structures of the hip joint, especially as the high psychological strain on the patient could have been reduced by a swifter and appropriate diagnosis.