Another common cause is falls from high places. Hip dislocations among athletes are more common in football players because of the contact. .
There are two types of hip dislocations, anterior and posterior. Posterior hip dislocations (like that in the above patient) are the most common type accounting for 80% of all hip dislocations. A large force is required to strike the flexed knee with the hip flexed, adducted, and internally rotated in order to cause a posterior dislocation. Anterior hip dislocations are rare and usually not seen in athletes. Anterior dislocations occur when an athlete's hip is flexed with the leg abducted and externally rotated. This force drives the femoral head out of the acetabulum, tearing ligaments, and often fracturing the femoral head and/or acetabulum (Journal of Sports Medicine).
The hip is a ball and socket joint. The femoral head rests within the acetabulum of the pelvis and is held in place by five ligaments. These ligaments are very strong structures and require an immense force to tear them. This makes the hip joint a very strong and stable joint. The other structures around the hip include the sciatic nerve, the femoral nerve, femoral artery, and obturator artery. It is very important to evaluate the neurovascular status in a patient with hip dislocation. The most common injury is to the obturator artery. It supplies the head of the femur with blood and can be cut off very easily. If this happens, the patient is more vulnerable to develop osteonecrosis and eventually osteoarthritis of the hip.
Hip dislocations are very traumatic and painful injuries. The patient usually presents in severe pain. In an anterior dislocation, the hip is usually extended and externally rotated. Posterior hip dislocations usually present with the affected limb shortened, internally rotated and adducted. This is how JA presented.