The right specialist. The right diagnosis.
July 15, 2026
Courtni Hedberg, 40, was tired of being sidelined by her hip pain. Always an active person, she was not ready to give up all the activities she enjoyed with her family. Her pain even impacted her sleep. Courtni was frustrated.
She shared that when she went on a Disney cruise with her family a few years ago, “I was miserable. My family would go off and do adventures, and I would sit alone in so much pain.”
Matthew Kolevar, MD
Matt Kolevar, MD is a fellowship-trained orthopaedic sports medicine surgeon. His clinical interests include arthroscopic surgery of the shoulder, hip, and knee, and shoulder replacement. Dr. Kolevar specializes in ligament repair and reconstruction, joint preservation, minimally invasive surgery, and complex knee and shoulder surgery.
Learn MoreCourtni’s search for relief
Courtni suffered from pain in her hip, lower back, and down her leg for about three years before she met with Matthew Kolevar, MD, an orthopedic surgeon with Trinity Health Medical Group in Grand Rapids.
Originally, her primary care provider thought Courtni’s pain could be from an issue in her back, so she referred her to a spine specialist.
“My spine specialist found a bulging disk that he thought was affecting the nerve, so I spent a year and a half in physical therapy, getting nerve blocks, and taking steroids,” she said.
These non-surgical therapies weren’t working. They alleviated some of the pain in Courtni’s lower back, but that was all she had to show for her efforts. Her specialist then referred her to Dr. Kolevar.
The right specialist
At their first meeting, Dr. Kolevar looked at Courtney’s X-rays and MRI. She recalls him immediately saying, “I can see where the ball of your hip has a crater. It has grown extra bone and sliced your labrum (a ring of cartilage around the hip socket).”
“Sometimes it is a matter of getting the proper imaging to make a diagnosis,” said Dr. Kolevar. “Once we obtained the proper, specialized X-rays, it was obvious what her problem was and that there was a reliable surgical solution. If you are having hip pain, you need to see someone who specializes in the hip.”
The right diagnosis
Thrilled that Dr. Kolevar identified the source of her pain, Courtni finally felt hope. Her condition is called hip femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) — a condition where the ball and socket joint of the hip joint do not fit together as they should so it can cause pain and impede movement.
“FAI syndrome is a motion-related clinical disorder of the hip where there is premature contact between the thigh bone and the hip socket during hip motion,” said Dr. Kolevar.
More common among high-level athletes and active young adults (aged 20 to 45), the primary symptom of FAI syndrome is motion- or position-related pain in the hip or groin. Around 15% of people with hip pain have FAI.
“Dr. Kolevar was fantastic. He was new to the practice, so I asked him a lot about his experience. I was impressed that he wasn’t taken aback by my questions. And he helped me with getting approval for surgery with insurance.”
After Dr. Kolevar explained the minimally invasive outpatient surgery he would perform — hip arthroscopy, which involves making a small incision in the hip and inserting a camera to help guide the surgeon — Courtni was reassured.
Courtni’s white knight
Courtni’s surgery was in December 2025. Dr. Kolevar repaired her torn cartilage around her hip socket and shaved the excess bone growth to make the ball and socket move smoothly.
After surgery, physical therapy (PT) was a crucial part of Courtni’s healing. Targeted exercises can improve the range of motion in a patient’s hip and strengthen the muscles that support the joint. Courtni attended PT for several months, and she has remained active ever since.
Impressive results
“This surgery changed my life. I’m 90% healed now,” Courtni shared. “A few weeks ago, I went with my family to Universal Studios. I did 20,000 steps each day, and I felt fine. Now I just have some muscle and ligament tightness, but there are no restrictions at this time.”
Dr. Kolevar agrees.
“In general, after surgery, patients go back to sports at the six-month mark, and they often do not need any further intervention. Courtni’s prognosis is very good for a full return to sports and activities. She is young, healthy, motivated, and athletic.”