I have hip dysplasia. I was misdiagnosed for six months, told I needed surgery, and eventually got back to dancing full-time without it. What follows is what actually worked, set out as five simple steps.
What Hip Dysplasia Actually Is
Hip dysplasia is where the socket, the acetabulum, provides less coverage over the ball of the hip joint, the femoral head. Less bony coverage means the joint relies more heavily on the surrounding muscles and soft tissue for stability.
It often comes with a greater range of motion than average. In my case it came with hip retroversion as well, where the hips sit externally rotated within the joint, which is part of why ballet came naturally to me. If you want the wider picture of how hip structure shapes movement, we cover it in our piece on how hip anatomy shapes squat performance.
Why Hip Dysplasia Is Often Mistaken for Hip Impingement
In my second year of dancing full-time I developed intense hip pain at the front of both hips. A physiotherapist diagnosed hip impingement after a positive test result, and I waited six months to see a surgeon, expecting an operation.
Within ten minutes the surgeon looked at the same X-rays and said they had been misinterpreted. I did not have hip impingement, where extra bone restricts movement. I had hip dysplasia, which is closer to the opposite problem.
The two get confused because they present similarly. Both cause hip pain at the front of the joint, both hurt at end range, and both often return a positive result on the same clinical test. That test provokes symptoms from the joint but does not tell you whether the cause is too much bone or too little coverage.
5 Simple Steps to Stay Strong With Hip Dysplasia
1. Get the Right Hip Diagnosis
Everything downstream depends on this. If your symptoms are not matching your diagnosis, or you are not progressing as expected, a second opinion is reasonable. In my case a reinterpretation of the same imaging changed everything about how I was managed. Our general physiotherapy team can assess the hip and help you work out whether the picture fits.
2. Understand Your Own Range of Motion
Knowing where you sit matters more than comparing yourself to anyone else. My hip flexion does not travel straight up to the front, it moves slightly out to the side, because of the orientation of my joint. Once I understood that, positions that had felt wrong made sense.
3. Build Strength Around the Hip Joint
With less bony coverage, muscle has to do more of the stabilising work. That means targeted strength through the glutes, the deep hip rotators and the trunk, not just general fitness. This is the step that changed the most for me, and it is the same principle behind our performance physiotherapy work.
4. Control the Range You Have Rather Than Chasing More
This is the one people with hip dysplasia get wrong most often. A large range of motion feels like an asset, so the instinct is to keep stretching into it. Sinking into end range asks ligaments and the labrum to hold you rather than muscle. Control the range you already have.
5. Keep Progressing the Load
Strength gained is not strength kept. Managing hip dysplasia is ongoing rather than a course of treatment you finish. Load needs to keep progressing as your activity does, and it needs reviewing when your training changes. For dancers and athletes, our sports physiotherapy team works with the specific demands of your discipline.
Hip Labral Tears and Hip Dysplasia
I was also diagnosed with hip labral tears. In the hip, the labrum acts like a suction seal, drawing the femoral head into the acetabulum. Where there is less bony coverage to begin with, as in hip dysplasia, the labrum is asked to do more of the stabilising work, which is why hip labral tears are common alongside it.
Ffion, a physiotherapist at our Coogee clinic, has written in more detail about hip labral tears if you want the clinical picture.
What My Own Recovery Looked Like
I was referred to a physiotherapist in Melbourne who built a strength and conditioning programme around my hips specifically. It took about a year. Progress was not linear and the early months felt slow, because the strength work was targeted rather than general.
I returned to dancing without hip pain. No surgery was required. That experience is why I became a physiotherapist, and why I pay close attention when someone tells me a diagnosis does not feel right.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can hip dysplasia be managed without surgery?
In many cases yes. Because the joint relies more on soft tissue for stability, a targeted strength programme can be very effective. Surgery is appropriate for some presentations, and that decision sits with an orthopaedic specialist.
What is the difference between hip dysplasia and hip impingement?
Hip impingement involves extra bone restricting movement at the hip joint. Hip dysplasia is closer to the opposite, where the acetabulum provides less coverage over the femoral head. Both can cause similar hip pain.
Should I stretch if I have hip dysplasia?
Usually the priority is strength and control rather than more range of motion. Most people with hip dysplasia already have plenty of range. The gap is the ability to control it.
What causes hip labral tears?
Hip labral tears can follow a specific injury, but they also develop over time where the labrum is doing extra stabilising work. This is common in hip dysplasia and in people with a large range of motion, including dancers and gymnasts.
Book an Appointment
Book an appointment at BeFit Training Physiotherapy. No referral needed.
BeFit Training Physiotherapy Edgecliff
Ground Floor, 287-289 New South Head Road, Edgecliff NSW 2027
Phone: (02) 9327 7749
BeFit Training Physiotherapy Coogee
Shop 1/2 Byron Street, Coogee NSW 2034
Phone: (02) 7205 2805
