Professional golfers' hips: prevalence and predictors of hip pain with clinical and MR examinations.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to determine the prevalence of hip pain in professional golfers, comparing the lead (left hip in right-handed golfer) and trail hips, and to establish what player characteristics predicted hip symptoms.


METHODS
Male elite professional golf players were invited to complete questionnaires and undergo clinical and MR examinations while attending the Scottish Hydro Challenge 2015. Questionnaires determined player demographics, self-reported hip pain and an International Hip Outcome Tool 12 (iHOT12) score (hip-related quality of life). Clinical examinations determined hip range of motion and the presence of a positive impingement test. MR scans determined the presence of labral pathology and player hip morphology with measures of α angle (cam), acetabular depth (pincer) and femoral neck antetorsion.


RESULTS
A total of 109 (70% of tournament field) of players completed questionnaires, 73 (47%) underwent clinical examination and 55 (35%) underwent MR examination. 19.3% of players reported of hip pain. 11.9% of lead and 9.1% of trail hips were painful (p=0.378), iHOT12 scores were lower in the lead (94.1) compared to the trail hip (95.3) (p=0.007). Stepwise multiple linear regression modelling was able to predict 20.7% of the variance in iHOT12 scores with mean α angles between 12 and 3 o'clock, and increasing age-significant variables (R(2)=0.207, p<0.001; β=-0.502, p<0.001 and β=-0.399, p=0.031, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
19.3% of male professional golfers reported hip pain. The presence of an increasing α angle and increasing age were significant predictors of reduced hip-related quality of life.
Clinical Trials Unit, Warwick Medical School, Warwick, UK.
Edward
E
Dickenson
Clinical Trials Unit, Warwick Medical School, Warwick, UK.
Imran
I
Ahmed
Clinical Trials Unit, Warwick Medical School, Warwick, UK.
Miguel
M
Fernandez
Leeds Musculoskeletal Biomedical Imaging Unit, Leeds Teaching Hospitals, Leeds, UK.
Philip
P
O'Connor
Leeds Musculoskeletal Biomedical Imaging Unit, Leeds Teaching Hospitals, Leeds, UK.
Philip
P
Robinson
Radiology Department, Royal Liverpool University Hospital, Liverpool, UK.
Robert
R
Campbell
European Tour Performance Institute, European Tour, Virginia Water, UK.
Andrew
A
Murray
Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
Martin
M
Warner
Department of Clinical Imaging, Warwick Medical School, Warwick, UK.
Charles
C
Hutchinson
European Tour Performance Institute, European Tour, Virginia Water, UK.
Roger
R
Hawkes
Clinical Trials Unit, Warwick Medical School, Warwick, UK.
Damian
D
Griffin
D000077:Acetabulum / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D018771:Arthralgia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D057925:Femoracetabular Impingement / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D005272:Femur Neck / Q000473:pathology; D006055:Golf / Q000502:physiology*; D006621:Hip Joint / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010808:Physical Examination; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012606:Scotland / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014102:Torsion Abnormality / Q000473:pathology