Short rotator tendons do not increase intracapsular pressure in severe osteoarthritic hips

BACKGROUND: While a relation between pain and intracapsular pressure in the hip joint has previously been reported by some of the present authors, a newly published study including patients with severe osteoarthritis was not able to confirm this finding. This stimulated us to investigate the role of short rotators in relation to intracapsular pressure and pain in osteoarthritic hips. METHODS: We measured the intracapsular hydrostatic pressure peroperatively in 25 total hip arthroplasty patients with severe osteoarthritis in various positions of the hip joint before and after short rotator release, and correlated these pressures to pain. RESULTS: Release of the short rotators did not change the intracapsular pressure in any position except in 45° flexion, in which the pressure increased (p = 0.002). We found no correlation between intracapsular pressure and pain before or after short rotator release. CONCLUSION: We could not show that the rotators directly affected the pressure nor could we find a relation between pressure and pain.