Contribution of Hip Abductors Muscles on Bone Mineral Density and Functionality in Older Women

Despite the well-established role of muscle in maintaining bone mass and physical performance, there are still few studies that assess the relationship between muscle groups and specific bone sites and its contribution to physical function in older people. The aim of the study is to verify the association between hip and knee's muscle strength and bone mineral density of the femoral neck (BMD-FN) and investigated which muscle strength that are related with BMD-FN is associated with physical function in older women.

This is a cross-sectional study of 94 women over the age of 60 years, physically independent. Muscle strength of the hip and knee was evaluated using an isokinetic dynamometer (Biodex, USA) to obtain peak torque (PT). The BMD-FN was obtained using dual-energy x-ray absorption densitometry (DXA). Physical function was evaluated by the Timed Up and Go (TUG), gait speed (GS), five times stand to sit (5TSS) and single-leg stance (SS). To verify the association between muscle strength (independent variable) and the BMD-FN (dependent variable) and the relationship between muscle strength (independent variable) and clinical tests (dependent variable), the multiple linear regression was carried out, adjusted for age, time of menopause, height and level of physical activity. All of the analyses were carried out by the SPSS 17.0 software, with a level of p < 0.05 significance.

We found an association between the hip abductors PT and the BMD-FN and between hip abductors PT and all clinical tests.

We observe that hip abductor muscle strength contributes to BMD-FN and to performance in several clinical tests in older women. These findings reinforce the importance of this musculature not only for improving balance and gait, but also it can be a strategy to maintain/improve bone mass in the femoral neck in this population.