rss
Br J Sports Med 2009;43:739-744 doi:10.1136/bjsm.2008.055749
  • Original article

Hip flexibility and strength measures: reliability and association with athletic groin pain

  1. P Malliaras1,
  2. A Hogan2,
  3. A Nawrocki3,
  4. K Crossley4,
  5. A Schache5
  1. 1
    Brunel University, Uxbridge, UK
  2. 2
    SPORTSMED SA, Stepney, South Australia, Australia
  3. 3
    Alphington Sports Medicine Clinic, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  4. 4
    Department of Mechanical Engineering and School of Physiotherapy, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  5. 5
    Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  1. Correspondence to Anthony Schache, Senior Research Fellow, School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia 3010; anthonys{at}unimelb.edu.au
  • Accepted 6 February 2009
  • Published Online First 11 March 2009

Abstract

Objective: Groin pain commonly affects football players and can be associated with prolonged recovery periods. Understanding the relationship between groin pain and reliable measures of hip flexibility and strength may facilitate the development of optimal rehabilitation and prevention strategies. In this study, the reliability and association with athletic groin pain of hip flexibility and strength measures were investigated.

Methods: A cohort of 29 football players (15–21 years) participating in junior elite competitions (Australian Rules football and soccer) were recruited. The intra-rater reliability (n  =  13) and inter-rater reliability (n  =  12) of various hip flexibility (bent knee fall out test, hip internal rotation, hip external rotation) and strength (hip abduction, hip internal rotation, hip external rotation, hip adduction (squeeze test)) measures were investigated using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Reliable hip flexibility and strength measures were compared between football players with (n  =  10) and without (n  =  19) groin pain.

Results: The bent knee fall out test, hip internal rotation flexibility and the squeeze test demonstrated acceptable (ICC>0.75) intra-rater and inter-rater reliability, while hip external rotation flexibility and hip abduction strength demonstrated acceptable intra-rater but not inter-rater reliability. Hip internal and external rotation strength tests were not found to be reliable. Football players with groin pain had significantly reduced force production on the squeeze test (p>0.05).

Conclusion: Several hip flexibility and strength measures were found to be reliable. Only the squeeze test discriminated between football players with and without groin pain.

Footnotes

  • Funding The Australian Physiotherapy Association funded this study.

  • Competing interests None.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

This Article

  1. Abstract
  2. Full text
  3. PDF
  4. All versions of this article:
    1. bjsm.2008.055749v1
    2. 43/10/739 most recent

Responses

  1. Submit a response
  2. No responses published

Register for free content

The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.

Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.