Investigation Of The Correlation Between Knee Joint Pain And Hip Joint Function In 131 Cases

ObjectiveThe relationship and mechanism between knee pain and hip function were explored through an investigation and clinical physical examination,to provide a new treatment direction for knee pain management as well as clinical basis for knee pain management.MethodologyThe data of 131 patients who met the inclusion criteria for this study were collected through a questionnaire.The questionnaire included general information and pain,among them,knee WOMAC scale(4 levels in total:level 1 for no pain,level 2 for mild pain,level 3 for moderate pain and level 4 for severe pain),was used to assess knee pain,stiffness and daily activities(24 items in total).Clinical physical examination included tender points of knee joint,knee ROM,hip ROM,Faber test and Faber height test,among which Faber test and Faber height were the main tests used to evaluate hip function.SPSS20.0 software was used for data analysis and processing to explore the correlation between knee pain and hip function,a P value of<0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results1.Descriptive characteristics of patients with knee painThe duration of knee pain was 6 months to 30 years,with a median of 4(IQR=2-10)years.Among them,17 cases(13.0%)were left knee pain,33 cases(25.2%)were right knee pain,81 cases(61.8%)were bilateral knee pain.The level of WOMAC was 1-3.7,with an average of 1.3(IQR=1.1-1.7).2 The results of pain site and Faber height caused by Faber test and Faber testIn the hip Faber test,226(86.3%)patients with knee joint pain were tested positive,36(13.7%)patients without obvious discomfort were tested negative.In the Faber test,the most common region of pain were posterior area of hip(31.3%),lateral area of hip(27.1%),anterior area of hip(21.8%),less knee pain(8.0%)and lumbosacral discomfort(1.5%).Faber height ranged from 0-36cm,with a median of 10.5(IQR=6.5-15.5)cm.3.Knee pain correlation resultsThere was a significant correlation between WOMAC and Faber height(r=0.209,P=0.001).There was significant correlation between WOMAC and age(r=0.293,P=0.000),gender(r=0.222,P=0.000),left and right knee joint pain(r=0.137,P=0.027).There was significant correlation between WOMAC and knee flexion(r=-0.137,P=0.026),knee lack of extension(r=0.134,P=0.030),hip flexion(r=-0.123,P=0.047),hip adduction(r=-0.139,P=0.024),hip internal rotation(r=-0.125,P=0.042),hip external rotation(r=-0.176,P=0.004).Conclusion1.Correlation is seen between knee pain and hip function.In clinical settings,improvement of hip function is helpful to the improvement of knee pain.2.Most patients with knee pain have the problem of limited hip function.Before treatment,patients with knee pain should check the hip function to exclude knee pain caused by limited hip function.The relationship of the hip should be considered during treatment of knee pain.Acupoints can not only be selected in the local part of knee joint,but also around the hip joint.3.Discomfort caused by Faber test to the hip can indicate the area with limited hip function.In clinical settings,palpation of meridian along the pain site is useful to find the tender point(s)for treatment.4.Faber height can be used to evaluate the degree of limited hip function,and the improvement of Faber height can be used to evaluate the therapeutic effect.