© The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice, 2010 . A Peer Reviewed Publication of the College of Allied Health & Nursing at Nova Southeastern University Dedicated to allied health professional practice and education http://ijahsp.nova.edu Vol. 8 No. 3 ISSN 1540-580X Range of Active Hip Motion in Low Back Pain Patients and Apparently Healthy Controls Babatunde O.A. Adegoke, Ph.D. 1 O.A. Fapojuwo, M.Sc. 2 1. Department of Physiotherapy, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan. 2. Department of Physiotherapy, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos. Nigeria CITATION: Adegoke, BOA., Fapojuwo, OA. Range of Active Hip Motion in Low Back Pain Patients and Apparently Healthy Controls. The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice. July 2010. Volume 8 Number 3. ABSTRACT Purpose: Findings from previous studies on hip mobility in individuals with low back pain (LBP) have been equivocal and focused almost exclusively on hip rotation. This study compared active range of hip motion and classified its asymmetry in male subjects with and without LBP. Method : The ex-post facto study involved 30 male patients with LBP and 30 age and sex- matched controls. Active ranges of motion (AROM) of both hip joints of subjects in both groups were measured with a universal goniometer and grouped into different pattern categories based on the presence or absence of a difference of 10° or more between the AROM of the two hips. The data were summarized using mean and standard deviation calculations. Further analysis was done with Chi-square test with level of significance set at p˂0.05. Results: There were no significant differences between the AROM of LBP patients and controls except for hip flexion and between corresponding AROM of contralateral limbs in both groups. Patients and controls largely demonstrated symmetry in flexion, extension, abduction and adduction, but asymmetry of hip rotation was more predominant in both groups. There was however no significant differences in the proportions of patients and controls in the four hip rotation AROM patterns (p≥0.344) and the three patterns for other hip movements (p≥ 0.372). Conclusion : No statistically significant difference was found between active hip mobility of subjects with and without LBP. The majority of subjects in both groups exhibited symmetry of hip flexion, extension, abduction and adduction AROMs and more total lateral than total medial rotation AROM. INTRODUCTION Low back pain (LBP) is pain on the posterior aspect of the body below the twelfth rib and above the greater trochanter that may limit work, school and/or recreational activities. 1 It may be related to hip pain secondary to limitation of hip motion. 2-4 Hip pain has hence been reported to be often associated with LBP. 5 Associations between altered hip mobility and many pathologies including low back pain have also been reported by many authors. 6-10 Specifically, it has been reported that one of the predisposing factors in musculoskeletal pain syndromes of the trunk and lower extremity is perhaps limited and/or excessive range of motion of the hip joint, and that theoretically, any loss of hip rotation might place excessive mechanical stress on the lumbar spine and ultimately cause LBP. 3 The high rate of recurrence of LBP episodes has even been attributed to the altered movement patterns that may exist after the symptoms of LBP have been resolved. 1 Further, it has been opined that LBP may cause restriction of hip movement (usually manifested as greater lateral than medial rotation of the hip) perhaps due to a decrease in general physical activity during episodes of LBP. 2 It appears therefore that there is a link between LBP and hip mobility though a causal relationship has not been established. 10