As the number of hip fractures continues to increase in the United States (with an estimated 458,000 to 1,037,000 hip fractures per year by 2050 in patients 45 years old or older), orthopaedic surgeons will be called on to help deal with this impending public health crisis. Although most hip fractures occur in the geriatric population, more and more young patients are surviving motor vehicle accidents and presenting with high-energy injuries about the hip. Hip fractures in these two populations can be very different, and an understanding of these differences will help determine the appropriate treatment to minimize morbidity and mortality and restore the patient to his or her preinjury functional status.
