The association between asymmetric hip mobility and neck pain in young adults.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this cross-sectional observational study was to determine whether asymmetric hip mobility was associated with neck pain in young adults. METHODS: Three 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. RESULTS: The 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). CONCLUSIONS: Imbalanced mobility of the hip joints might be associated with an increased incidence of neck pain.

Supervised aerobic exercise is more effective than home aerobic exercise in female chinese patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness and safety of supervised aerobic exercise and home aerobic exercise in female Chinese patients with rheumatoid arthritis. DESIGN: Single-blind randomized controlled trial. SUBJECTS: Thirty female Chinese patients with rheumatoid arthritis were assigned to either supervised aerobic exercise or home aerobic exercise groups. METHODS: The supervised aerobic exercise programme was supervised by a physical therapist, while the home aerobic exercise programme was performed at home after one session of exercise instruction. Each programme consisted of 1 h of aerobic exercise conducted 3 times per week for 8 weeks. Aerobic capacity and disease-related variables, including pain intensity, functional ability, psychological status and joint function, were measured. RESULTS: Significant difference in changed score between pre- and post-exercise data was observed between the supervised aerobic exercise and home aerobic exercise groups regarding aerobic capacity (p < 0.0001). Pre- and post-exercise within-group comparisons showed significant improvement (20%) in aerobic capacity only in the supervised aerobic exercise group. Pre- and post-exercise within-group comparison showed significant improvement in 5 and 3 items of disease-related variables in supervised aerobic exercise and home aerobic exercise groups, respectively. CONCLUSION: An 8-week supervised aerobic exercise programme induced significant improvement in the aerobic capacity of female Chinese patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and was superior to a home aerobic exercise programme. Both programmes of aerobic exercise were safe for female Chinese patients with rheumatoid arthritis.