INTERNAL snapping hip syndrome

I have very bad pain associated with the popping noise my hip makes with sprinting, this sounds stupid but im afraid to sprint as fast as i can cause im afraid my hips going to pop, beause of the pain associated with it. My orthopedic thinks its my iliopsoas tendon snapping over one of the bones or whatever. (Internal Snapping Hip) He reccomends i do stretches and try to build up muscle. He did say something about surgery, but he says it wont be possible for me to be a great athete with the surgery? Cause if the stretching does not help i have no idea what i am going to do because it hurts so bad to sprint. Im a very very competitve softball player/pitcher, and i play some basketball. I have tried sitting out for over 6  weeks and still have the same painful popping, Has anyone had the surgery? Also when i lay on my left side with my right leg raised, if i bend my leg towards my head (knee close to head) i hear about three popping noises, then when i straighten my leg out i hear a louder popping noise.

I need opinions, Thanks!!

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

Well, without the relevant clinical details or a detailed clinical evaluation it would be difficult to comment specifically on the situation. If your orthopedician is positive that the issue is related to the muscle; physiotherapy may indeed be the best option at this time. Manipulative surgeries with the muscles or tendons may not result in 100% regain of strength and may hamper your progress as an athlete. Nevertheless it can be kept as a later option. However I would suggest ruling out other options as well that could result in symptoms such as joint laxity, injuries to the muscles/ tendons/ ligaments/ labrum, bone necrosis etc. You may like to discuss the situation and the management plan in detail with your treating orthopedician.
Hope this is helpful.

Take care!