Dr. Joshua Heerey chats on this podcast to BJSM’s Dr. Liam West about hip joint imaging. Josh gives us a sneak peek into the findings from the “Femoroacetabular impingement & hip OsteoathRitis Cohort (FORCe) study & how they may help clinicians manage their patients with hip and groin pain. The podcast is heavily based around clinical scenarios that are commonly faced in the clinic or sports team settings.

Dr Heerey is a physiotherapist and Hip Osteoarthritis Research and Development Lead at La Trobe University’s Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre in Melbourne, Australia. Dr Heerey obtained his PhD in 2021, with his research programme focusing on understanding the relationship between hip joint imaging findings and pain, and risk factors for development of early hip osteoarthritis in football players. He has published numerous articles examining the diagnosis and treatment of intra-articular hip conditions and is a current member of the International Hip-Related Pain Research Network and Young Athlete’s Hip Research Collaboration, which are multi-disciplinary international research teams created to improve the care of people living with hip and groin conditions.

Dr Heerey works clinically at Lifecare Prahran Sports Medicine Clinic. He has a particular interest in the management of longstanding hip and groin conditions

Relevant links:

- Heerey et al. What is the prevalence of imaging-defined intra-articular hip pathologies in people with and without pain? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med. 2018;52(9):581-93. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2017-098264

- Heerey et al. What is the prevalence of hip intra-articular pathologies and osteoarthritis in active athletes with hip and groin pain compared with those without? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2019;49:951-972. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-019-01092-y

- Heerey et al. Prevalence of early hip OA features in high- impact athletes. The femoroacetabular impingement and hip osteoarthritis cohort (FORCe) study. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2021; 29(3): 323-334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2020.12.013

- Heerey et al. The size and prevalence of bony hip morphology do not differ between football players with and without hip and/or groin pain: Findings from the FORCe cohort. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2021; 51(3): 115-125. https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2021.9622