Dr. Michael Gaudiani: Hip Arthroscopy and Its Impact on NHL Pros

Dr. Michael Gaudiani is a highly regarded resident physician and medical researcher. His research features in numerous peer-reviewed articles covering, among other topics, innovative and pioneering patient care protocols. He also boasts a successful athletic background, where his dedication and discipline translate seamlessly into his professional practice.

The resident physician, medical researcher, and former athlete recently conducted a study on hip arthroscopy and its impact on National Hockey League players. He has previously published on closely related topics, including understanding concussions and lower back injuries in ice hockey players.

His latest study focuses on hip arthroscopy, a minimally invasive surgical procedure that allows surgeons to examine and treat various hip conditions. Surgeons use an arthroscope to view the hip joint before treating any damage or abnormalities they discover. The surgery improves range of motion, relieves pain and stiffness, and supports a return to normal activities.

Dr. Gaudiani’s study, ‘High Return to Play and Variable Salary Impact After Hip Arthroscopy in National Hockey League Players,’ which he completed alongside several of his peers, uncovered various findings. The following is a closer look at the highlights of the study, which was first published earlier this year.

Hip Injuries and Arthroscopy

Professional ice hockey is a fast-paced contact sport that significantly elevates athletes’ risk of injury. This elevated risk often stems from unintended collisions with other players, boards, sticks, and pucks. Rapid changes in direction and overuse injuries are other common factors, particularly surrounding hip and pelvis damage.

Among the most frequently encountered such injuries are hip acetabular labral tears caused by femoroacetabular impingement syndrome. Hip acetabular labral tears due to femoroacetabular impingement syndrome or FAIS represent over two-thirds of all NHL intra-articular hip injuries, according to an earlier analysis of player performance.

The medical researcher’s most recent study assessed the impact of hip arthroscopy for FAIS on National Hockey League players’ career length, performance, and salary. He and his peers’ retrospective review examined 75 NHL players undergoing hip arthroscopies for FAIS between 2003 and 2023.

The highly regarded medical researcher and his peers used a 2:1 matched control cohort for comparison. They compared career length, performance, and salary between operatively managed players and healthy controls.

Impact of Surgery Among NHL Players

Physical therapy may be successful in treating femoroacetabular impingement syndrome. However, many athletes, including NHL pros, specifically require hip arthroscopy. According to Dr. Gaudiani, previous studies surrounding hip acetabular labral tears and FAIS among athletes more generally show excellent outcomes and high return-to-play rates.

At the same time, among professional ice hockey players specifically, return-to-play rates after hip arthroscopy surgeries and players’ subsequent performance metrics remain mixed based on previously available figures.

According to existing reports, NHL players experienced shorter careers and reduced performance metrics post-operatively versus uninjured players and their operatively managed counterparts in the National Basketball Association, National Football League, and Major League Baseball.

Findings of Dr. Gaudiani’s Study

Dr. Michael Gaudiani’s recent study aimed to assess the true impact of hip arthroscopy for FAIS on NHL players’ performance, career lengths, and salaries. That was after hypothesizing beforehand that NHL players who underwent the surgery would have shorter careers, worse performance metrics, and, as such, decreased overall earnings.

The report, completed and published earlier this year, found that of the studied NHL players undergoing hip arthroscopy, 88% returned to play. However, these players showed a significantly decreased puck possession rate in the immediate wake of their surgeries compared to their pre-operative performances.

On financial analysis, injured players showed lower average earnings two seasons after surgery but higher cumulative earnings two seasons later. The same study found career lengths to be similar between injured and uninjured players across matched groups.

Outcome of NHL Pro Hip Arthroscopies

In summary, National Hockey League players who suffered hip acetabular labral tears caused by femoroacetabular impingement syndrome and underwent hip arthroscopy showed worse performance metrics one season after surgery than their prior, pre-injury seasons. However, their performance metrics largely returned to baseline within three seasons of surgery.

Injured players, on average, showed decreased salaries at two seasons post-injury, although no differences were found in cumulative salaries over a four-season period following surgery. At odds with previous research surrounding hip acetabular labral tears and FAIS treated with arthroscopy surgery, career lengths were found to be all but unaffected in this latest study.

Detroit, Michigan-based physician and researcher Dr. Michael Gaudiani and his peers published the study ‘High Return to Play and Variable Salary Impact After Hip Arthroscopy in National Hockey League Players’ in September 2024. The full report is available from the Arthroscopy Association of North America.