The Association Between Asymmetric Hip Mobility and Neck Pain in Young Adults

ObjectiveThe objective of this cross-sectional observational study was to determine whether asymmetric hip mobility was associated with neck pain in young adults.MethodsThree hundred twenty-seven freshmen students were recruited from an urban university and underwent the Patrick's flexion, abduction, external rotation, extension (FABERE) test for comparison of the functional mobility of bilateral hip joints during the health examination. A logistic regression model was constructed to determine whether the asymmetry measured by the Patrick's FABERE test was associated with neck pain after adjusting for factors of sex and exercise habits.ResultsThe frequency of asymmetric results of the Patrick's FABERE test among the students who reported neck pain was significantly higher than that of those without neck pain (54.2% vs 26.5%; P < .001). After adjusting for the above confounders, the odds ratio of asymmetric results of a Patrick's FABERE test was 2.99 (95% confidence interval, 1.57-5.72; P < .001).ConclusionsImbalanced mobility of the hip joints might be associated with an increased incidence of neck pain.