Editorial Commentary: Even Though They Do Not Think So, Most Worker's Compensation Patients Improve After Hip Arthroscopy for Femoroacetabular Impingement!

Abstract

Despite workers' compensation patients reporting more pain and dysfunction before surgery for femoroacetabular impingement, they show equal achievement of minimal clinically important difference, and they return to work at the same levels as a matched cohort of non-workers' compensation patients. Because of the nature of work injuries, orthopaedic surgeons are highly involved in the care and management of these difficult patients. The workers' compensation system can make it time-consuming to get approval for appropriate treatment, and multiple socioeconomic factors including gender, education level, work characteristics, legal action, and expectations about ability to work without surgery are associated with receiving workers' compensation. In addition, workers' compensation patients typically participate in physical jobs that could stress a repaired injury, and workers' compensation is associated with higher rates of patient noncompliance. Most workers' compensation patients perceive that they have worse symptoms and function compared to patients who are non-workers' compensation, and the evidence is clear that return to work takes longer than for non-workers' compensation patents. The positive message for hip arthroscopists is that we provide quality health care to workers' compensation patients, and we get them back to work, regardless of the patient's perception.