Abstract

Background High rates of hip Osteoarthritis (OA) have been reported in occupational sub-groups exposed to prolonged and strenuous physical activity levels. The military population is particularly at risk given the demands inherent to this population. Despite the burden associated with non-arthritic hip complaints and OA there is a dearth of published data investigating the pre-disposing risk factors in military populations. The purpose of this article is to describe the protocol and methodology for a case-control study examining the influence of occupational and demographic factors associated with physician-diagnosed non-arthritic hip pain among active UK military personnel. Methods/Design The study design is a population based case-control study. Cases (n = 100) will be recruited from patients referred with hip pain to the Defense Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) Headley Court, UK. Age-matched controls (n = 400) will be randomly selected from the entire UK military population. Information on pre-enlistment activity levels, military branch titles, exposure to occupational physical stress, exposure on deployed operations, sports participation and other individual risk factors will be collected and evaluated using a standardized questionnaire. The test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the study questionnaire in a military population will be assessed with a sample of healthy male military permanent staff (n = 50) from DMRC Headley Court. Discussion This case-control study will provide the first estimates of the risks associated with occupational factors and the onset of non-arthritic hip pain in UK military personnel. If aspects of specific occupational activities and tasks contribute to the occurrence of hip pain it will inform future prevention strategies.

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