Lower extremity neuromuscular control immediately after fatiguing hip-abduction exercise

Fatigue of the gluteus medius (GMed) muscle might be associated with decreases in postural control due to insufficient pelvic stabilization. Men and women might have different muscular recruitment patterns in response to GMed fatigue.

To compare postural control and quality of movement between men and women after a fatiguing hip-abduction exercise.

Descriptive laboratory study.

Controlled laboratory.

Eighteen men (age = 22 ± 3.64 years, height = 183.37 ± 8.30 cm, mass = 87.02 ± 12.53 kg) and 18 women (age = 22 ± 3.14, height = 167.65 ± 5.80 cm, mass = 66.64 ± 10.49 kg) with no history of low back or lower extremity injury participated in our study.

Participants followed a fatiguing protocol that involved a side-lying hip-abduction exercise performed until a 15% shift in electromyographic median frequency of the GMed was reached.

Baseline and postfatigue measurements of single-leg static balance, dynamic balance, and quality of movement assessed with center-of-pressure measurements, the Star Excursion Balance Test, and lateral step-down test, respectively, were recorded for the dominant lower extremity (as identified by the participant).

We observed no differences in balance deficits between sexes (P > .05); however, we found main effects for time with all of our postfatigue outcome measures (P ≤ .05).

Our findings suggest that postural control and quality of movement were affected negatively after a GMed-fatiguing exercise. At similar levels of local muscle fatigue, men and women had similar measurements of postural control.