Drs. Eugene Brabston, Aaron Casp, Thomas Evely, and Amit Momaya, faculty members in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, are authors of a recently published article titled “Patients with operative gluteus medius tears often present with a concomitant history of lumbar pathology.”

According to the study, “literature investigating the relationship between the prevalence of lumbar pathology in patients with gluteus medius tears is lacking.” However, some studies have shown correlations between decreased gluteus medius function in patients that also have a history of lumbar pathology. The study, which was accepted for publication in the Journal of Orthopaedics’ January 2024 issue, aims to determine if patients needing repairs for gluteus medius tears have accompanying lumbar pathology.

Researchers focused on patients between the ages of 18 and 80 who underwent endoscopic gluteus medius repairs between May 2016 and May 2020, and outcomes between patients with and without a history of lumbar pathology were compared.

The study determined a high percentage of lumbar pathology in patients with operative gluteus medius tears. Specifically, 82.6% of cases reviewed showed a prior history of lumbar pathology in the patient. Additionally, 20 of the 23 cases were female patients. Overall, the study suggests a possible association between lumbar disease and gluteus medius weakness and tears.

Multiple current and former department members were also involved in this study, including Dr. Matt Hargreaves, Dr. Anna Crawford, Brett Cooke, and John N. Manfredi.