Hip Abductor Muscle Volume and Strength Differences Between Women With Chronic Hip Joint Pain and Asymptomatic Controls.
Matthew J Mastenbrook, Paul K Commean, Travis J Hillen and 5 others
PMID 28992772WHAT IT FOUND
Women with chronic hip pain had weaker hip abductors but larger gluteal muscles than matched controls.
This disconnect suggests weakness may stem from poor muscle quality or activation rather than simple atrophy, though the small sample limits firm conclusions.
Key findings
01Women with chronic hip joint pain had significantly decreased hip abductor strength compared to matched asymptomatic controls.
02Contrary to expectations of atrophy, women with chronic hip joint pain had significantly greater gluteal muscle volume than controls.
03Most participants with chronic hip pain reported no pain during strength testing, suggesting the weakness was not primarily due to pain inhibition during the task.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The sample size was very small (15 pairs), limiting the ability to draw firm conclusions. The study included only women with a BMI under 30, so results may not apply to men or individuals with higher BMI. MRI images were originally optimized for bone structure, not muscle quality, so the researchers could not distinguish between contractile muscle tissue and intramuscular fat or swelling. The study was a secondary analysis, and 19 of the original 36 matched pairs were excluded because their MRI scans did not cover the necessary muscle regions. Chronic hip pain is a heterogeneous condition; the FADIR test identifies the hip joint as the pain source but does not specify the exact tissue damage (e.g., labral tear vs. cartilage lesion).
Declared interests
No conflicts of interest were reported.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the larger muscle volume as evidence of better muscle health or strength. The study found that patients with pain had bigger gluteal muscles but significantly weaker strength, suggesting the extra volume may be due to non-contractile tissue like fat or swelling rather than functional muscle growth.