The tendon of the Psoas muscle in the front of the hip may be damaged by injury, but these injuries will most often respond well to physiotherapy treatment.

Sometimes the tendon my be injured by rubbing against a rough surface such as a bone spur, or the edge of a total hip replacement socket. Such damage will cause pain in the front of the hip, and often be associated with marked weakness of hip flexion. This may lead to great difficulty climbing stairs, for example.

The diagnosis of Psoas tendonitis can generally be confirmed with an ultrasound examination, plus injection of local anaesthetic and cortisone around the tendon. The injection will generally give temporary improvement in symptoms. Permanent resolution of symptoms can generally be obtained by arthroscopic tendon lengthening. This surgery may sometimes be associated with some weakness hip flexion, but this nearly always recovers.

Lengthening the Psoas tendon