posterior dislocation of the hip

Last reviewed 01/2018

About 80% of hip dislocations are posterior.

This type of injury will often occur in a road accident. In this situation the patient may have been seated in a car and been thrown forward hitting their knee against the dashboard and forcing the femoral head upwards and backwards dislocating the hip joint posteriorly. This type of injury may cause a concomitant fracture of the acetabulum and so be a fracture-dislocation of the hip joint.