The buddy system is great. It helps keep buddies safe, secure and confident. When you’re a college athlete facing two major surgeries (called periacetabular osteotomy or PAO) to correct hip dysplasia in one year, a buddy can be a lifeline.

Until she was 18, Kristina Simonson had been one of those lucky athletes who escaped injury season after season. The Babson College student started playing soccer at 5 and entered college as a two-sport athlete—soccer and lacrosse.

She began experiencing hip pain her freshman year in college. Her trainer suspected it might be a torn labrum, or a rip in the seal that normally cushions the hip joint. He was right … but only partially. …