Usefulness of the strength of the muscles involved in hip abduction with flexion in community

-dwelling elderly people ­The analysis of subjects with and without knee pain­-

Abstract

To clarify the clinical usefulness of the strength of the muscles involved in hip abduction with flexion, the influences of knee pain on such strength and that of the quadriceps femoris were examined, involving 227 community-dwelling elderly females divided into 2 groups with (45) and without (182) knee pain. For both groups, the strengths of the muscles involved in hip abduction with flexion and quadriceps femoris, toe and hand grip strengths, number of sit-ups, CS-30, TUG, and 5MWT scores, and body composition (muscle mass, skeletal muscle mass, and lower limb muscle mass) were measured. The strength of the muscles involved in hip abduction with flexion was significantly correlated with all physical function parameters in both groups. The quadriceps femoris muscle strength was significantly correlated with all physical function parameters in the group without knee pain, but it was not significantly correlated with TUG or 5MWT scores in the group with it. The results suggest that the strength of the muscles involved in hip abduction with flexion is more useful than that of the quadriceps femoris to assess the dynamic standing balance and walking abilities of elderly people with knee pain.