Sex Differences During Star Excursion Balance Test in Individuals With Chronic Hip-Related Groin Pain.
Cameron Swick, Michael D Harris, Fan Zhang and 3 others
PMID 41633351WHAT IT FOUND
In 28 adults with chronic hip-related groin pain, males and females reached similar distances on the modified Star Excursion Balance Test.
In some reaches, females showed more hip adduction, more pelvic drop, less trunk flexion, and smaller hip flexion moments.
Key findings
01Males and females reached similar normalized distances in all three reach directions.
02Females showed larger hip adduction angles during anterior and posteromedial reaches, larger contralateral pelvic drop during anterior reach, and smaller trunk flexion during posteromedial reach.
03Females showed a smaller hip flexion moment during posterolateral reach.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only 28 patients were analysed, and no power analysis was conducted, so the study may have missed real differences. It was a secondary exploratory analysis of baseline data from a pilot trial, not a test of any treatment. Many comparisons were made without correcting for multiple testing, so some significant sex differences could be false positives. Several patients lifted the heel of the stance foot during anterior reach despite instructions, although heel rise did not differ between sexes. Practice trials were not fixed at four, and some participants rested their foot down between reaches, so performance may differ from standard SEBT protocols. Reach distance was measured with 3D motion analysis rather than visual estimation along taped lines, so absolute distances cannot be compared directly with many previous studies.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that females have worse balance or that these movement patterns should be corrected. Reach distance did not differ between sexes, and the study was a small exploratory analysis that cannot show which movement strategy is better or harmful.