Lower-Limb Biomechanics in Football Players with and without Hip-related Pain

This study aimed to evaluate the differences in lower-limb biomechanics between adult subelite competitive football players with and without hip-related pain during two contrasting tasks-walking and single-leg drop jump (SLDJ)-and to determine whether potential differences, if present, are sex dependent.

Eighty-eight football players with hip-related pain (23 women, 65 men) and 30 asymptomatic control football players (13 women, 17 men) who were currently participating in competitive sport were recruited. Biomechanical data were collected for the stance phase of walking and SLDJ. Pelvis, hip, knee, and ankle angles, as well as the impulse of the external joint moments, were calculated. Differences between groups and sex-specific effects were calculated using linear regression models.

Compared with their asymptomatic counterparts, football players with hip-related pain displayed a lower average pelvic drop angle during walking (P = 0.03) and a greater average pelvic hike angle during SLDJ (P < 0.05). Men with hip-related pain displayed a smaller total range of motion (excursion) for the transverse plane pelvis angle (P = 0.03) and a smaller impulse of the hip external rotation moment (P < 0.01) during walking compared with asymptomatic men. Women with hip-related pain displayed a greater total range of motion (excursion) for the sagittal plane knee angle (P = 0.01) during walking compared with asymptomatic women.

Overall, few differences were observed in lower-limb biomechanics between football players with and without hip-related pain, irrespective of the task. This outcome suggests that, despite the presence of symptoms, impairments in lower-limb biomechanics during function do not appear to be a prominent feature of people with hip-related pain who are still participating in sport.