Pain Scores and Activity Tolerance in the Early Postoperative Period After Hip Arthroscopy

Abstract

Background: Despite the rapid growth in the use of hip arthroscopy, standardized data on postoperative pain scores and activity level are lacking. Purpose: To quantify narcotic consumption and use of the stationary bicycle in the early postoperative period after hip arthroscopy. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: In this prospective case series, patients undergoing a primary hip arthroscopy procedure by a single surgeon were asked to fill out a daily survey for 9 days postoperatively. Patients were asked to report their pain level each day on a visual analog scale from 1 to 10, along with the amount of narcotic pain pills they used during those postoperative days (PODs). Narcotic usage was converted to a morphine-equivalent dosage (MED) for each patient. Patients were also instructed to cycle daily starting on the night of surgery for a minimum of 3 minutes twice per day and were asked to rate their pain as a percentage of their preoperative pain level and the number of minutes spent cycling on a stationary bicycle per day. Results: A total of 212 patients were enrolled in this study. Pain levels (POD1, 5.5; POD4, 3.8; POD9, 2.9; P