Are Prior Foot/Ankle or Knee Injuries in Youth Sports Associated With Current Hip Pain in Young Adulthood?

Hip pain is a concern in young adults, with previous hip injury recognized as a key contributing factor. However, little is known about how prior non-hip lower extremity injuries impact current hip pain.

To determine (1) whether past foot/ankle and knee youth sports injuries are associated with current hip pain in young adults and (2) the role of foot/ankle, knee, and hip pain in contributing to poor patient-reported lower extremity function in young adults.

Cross-sectional study.

Electronic survey.

Four hundred twenty-four young adults with previous youth sports participation.

Individuals self-reported prior youth sports foot/ankle, knee, and hip injury histories, current pain in these regions, and current function using the Lower Extremity Functional Scale. Ordinal logistic regression models assessed the association of prior foot/ankle and/or knee injuries with current hip pain. Secondary analyses evaluated the effect of (1) foot/ankle and hip injury history on current knee pain and (2) knee and hip injury history on current foot/ankle pain. Finally, we explored the relationship between current lower extremity region pain and function.

A history of both foot/ankle and knee injuries (odds ratio [OR] = 4.91; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.80, 8.60) or foot/ankle injury alone (OR = 2.72, 95% CI = 1.68, 4.41) was associated with increased odds of current hip pain; a knee injury history alone was not (OR = 1.17, 95% CI = 0.64, 2.15). Hip and foot/ankle injury histories were both associated with increased current knee pain. Greater current foot/ankle pain, but not knee or hip pain, was linked to worse current lower extremity function.

Prior lower extremity injuries, particularly involving the foot/ankle, increased the likelihood of current hip pain. Multi-region lower extremity injury histories appear to have a compounding effect on hip pain intensity.