Sexual Activity After Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Motion Capture Study

The Journal of Arthroplasty
Volume 29, Issue 3, Pages 640-647, March 2014
doi:10.1016/j.arth.2013.07.043

Caecilia Charbonnier, PhD [a], Sylvain Chagué, MS [a], Matteo Ponzoni, MS [b], Massimiliano Bernardoni, MS [b], Pierre Hoffmeyer, MD [c], Panayiotis Christofilopoulos, MD [c]

[a] Medical Research Department, Artanim Foundation, Geneva, Switzerland
[b] Medacta International SA, Lugano, Switzerland
[c] Department of Surgery, Orthopedics and Trauma Service, University Hospitals of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

Abstract

Relative risk of impingement and joint instability during sexual activities after total hip arthroplasty (THA) has never been objectively investigated. Hip range of motion necessary to perform sexual positions is unknown. A motion capture study with two volunteers was performed. 12 common sexual positions were captured and relevant hip joint kinematics calculated. The recorded data were applied to prosthetic hip 3D models to evaluate impingement and joint instability during motion. To explore the effect of acetabular component positioning, nine acetabular cup positions were tested. Four sexual positions for women requiring intensive flexion (> 95°) caused prosthetic impingements (associated with posterior instability) at 6 cup positions. Bony impingements (associated with anterior instability) occurred during one sexual position for men requiring high degree of external rotation (> 40°) combined with extension and adduction at all cup positions. This study hence indicates that some sexual positions could be potentially at risk after THA, particularly for women.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883540313005615

http://www.arthroplastyjournal.org/article/S0883-5403%2813%2900561-5/abstract