Are prior foot/ankle or knee injuries in youth sports associated with current hip pain in young adulthood?

Context: 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. Objective: 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. Design: Cross-sectional study Setting: Electronic survey Patients or Other Participants: 424 young adults with previous youth sports participation Main Outcome Measures: 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 impact 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. Results: 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. Conclusions: 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.