Abstract
This study aimed to describe hip muscle strength and cross-sectional area in male and female junior sprinters. A total of 45 high-school sprinters (SP) of both genders participated in the study. Distance runners (DR, n=11) and untrained subjects (CON, n=18) at similar ages also participated as reference groups. Hip strength was measured at 3.14 and 5.23 rad/s by an isokinetic dynamometer. Muscle cross-sectional area of psoas major (PM) and gluteus maximus (GM) were determined by magnetic resonance imaging. Hip extension strength was more developed in SP compared with DR or CON. PM and GM cross-sectional area corrected by fat-free mass were not different between SP and DR for the female but were significantly larger in SP than DR for the male. No relation was found between either side of hip strength and sprint-performance level. However, higher performance female SP showed significantly larger PM while higher performance male SP showed larger GM. These results indicate that sprinters even at junior ages are noted for having greater hip strength in extension side regardless of gender; however gender-related differences in hip muscularity may exist in junior sprinters.
