Hip joint power during a single leg squat is related to patient-reported function, physical activity, and symptom duration in individuals with chronic hip-Related pain.
Holly M Elliott, Bethany J Wilcox, Michael A Samaan and 1 others
PMID 42526308WHAT IT FOUND
Among 25 adults with chronic hip pain, weaker hip power during a single-leg squat was linked to worse function, longer symptoms, and less activity.
This suggests hip power could be a useful target in hip pain rehabilitation.
Key findings
01Lower sagittal plane hip power during both the eccentric and concentric phases of a single-leg squat was associated with worse hip function, longer symptom duration, and lower physical activity in adults with chronic hip pain.
02The study was a secondary analysis of a cross-sectional cohort of 25 adults (aged 18 to 39; 6 male, 19 female) with chronic hip pain, using 3D motion capture to measure joint power during a single-leg squat.
03No asymptomatic control group was included, and the cross-sectional design means the associations cannot be interpreted as causal.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Cross-sectional design: the associations cannot be read as cause-and-effect; it is equally possible that reduced activity and longer symptoms lead to lower hip power rather than the reverse. Small sample of 25, with 19 of 25 female, limiting generalisability and preventing sex-specific conclusions. No asymptomatic control group, so it is impossible to say whether the observed hip power levels are truly reduced compared with healthy hips. No radiographic imaging was obtained, so specific diagnoses (FAIS, labral tear, dysplasia) could not be confirmed or stratified. Secondary analysis of previously collected data; the power analysis was not the primary aim of the original study. Self-reported function and activity (iHOT-12, Tegner) introduce recall and selection bias in a cross-sectional design.
Declared interests
Funded by the American College of Sports Medicine MARC-ACSM Early-Stage Investigator Award, the West Virginia University Research and Scholarship Advancement Grant, and NIH Awards (K23-AT011922 and K01-AG073698). No industry sponsorship, no competing financial interests, and no author involvement by a commercial entity in study design or manuscript preparation was declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these correlations as evidence that hip power training will improve hip pain or function. The study is cross-sectional, involves 25 people with no control group, and shows only that lower power co-occurs with worse outcomes. The authors themselves state that future work should investigate the effects of hip joint power training on clinical outcomes, acknowledging that no intervention data yet exist.