The Relationship Between Proximal Hip Stabilizer Force and the Incidence of Recurrent Ankle Sprains With Female Soccer Players Ages Thirteen to Seventeen.

PRESENTATION TYPE: Poster AUTHOR/INSTITUTION: J. Keehan, Doctor of Physical Therapy Program Cleveland State University. ABSTRACT BODY: Purpose/Hypothesis: The primary goal of this study is to examine the differences between the amount of proximal hip musculature torque in kilograms at the gluteus medius and gluteus maximus in patients with and without lateral ankle sprains. Number of subjects: 24, adolescent female soccer players ages 13-17. Materials/Methods: Mean peak torque of bilateral lower extremity gluteus medius and gluteus maximus was measured for all subjects both ankle sprain and normal subjects. A Lafayette Manual Muscle Test System hand held dynamometer was used to take peak force measurement. Height, weight, BMI, femoral length, and tibial length were also measured. Subjects completed an Ankle Instability Instrument as well as completed a questionnaire prior to having the other measurements taken. Peak torque was normalized for body weight and height. The primary investigator was blinded to all subjects in regards to whether they were ankle subjects or normal subjects. Results: A one-way repeated–measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare and examine differences between torques in both ankle sprain and normal groups for both gluteus medius and gluteus maximus. A paired t-test was used to assess torque differences between means of gluteus medius and gluteus maximus torques within the ankle sprain subjects. Pearson correlation was used to determine if there was any relationship between ankle sprain and age of the subjects. Conclusions: There was not a significant statistical difference noted in between peak force of gluteus medius and maximus when comparing the normal ankle group to the recurrent ankle sprain group. This study was unable to determine a greater difference between the gluteus medius peak force means than that of the gluteus maximus. Clinical Relevance: This has important implications for therapists who are evaluating and treating young female soccer players who have suffered recurrent ankle sprains. It offers insight to therapists as to specific areas that are of interest during assessment and examination of soccer players with recurrent ankle sprain. Keywords: hip, ankle sprain, gluteus medius, gluteus maximus, adolescent female