The influence of hip abduction and external rotation on sacroiliac motion

Although the sacroiliac joint (SIJ) is conventionally accepted as a sagittal joint with little mobility in other planes, recent research has shown evidence for reduced hip abduction and axial rotation in patients with sacroiliac pain. A sample of healthy individuals was investigated to determine whether innominate motion about the sacroiliac joint can be predicted from abduction and external rotation displacement of the femur. The motion of the innominate and femur were tracked as the hip was passively rotated by standardized increments of 10 degrees into (1) abduction; (2) external rotation; and (3) a combination of external rotation and abduction. Although sagittal and transverse plane innominate motion both increased significantly as the hip was rotated further into either abduction or external rotation, external rotation was the strongest predictor of change in innominate angle. A combination of external rotation and abduction led to greater increases in these innominate angles at a smaller degree of hip rotation. The results support the use of abduction and external rotation hip displacements (both singularly and in combination) for assessing SIJ mobility at least in the axes investigated. Further research that investigates the use of these tests in people with SIJ disorders is warranted.