Relationship between Hip Abductor Muscle Strength and Frontal Plane Kinematics: A Cross-Sectional Study in Elite Handball Athletes

Abstract

Frontal plane kinematics of the lower limb could be especially relevant in the risk of injuries in handball (HB) athletes. An association between lower limb frontal plane kinematics and hip abductor muscles strength has been investigated in different populations. However, the relationship between pelvis, hip, and knee frontal plane kinematics and the hip abductor strength in HB athletes has not been considered. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between hip abductor muscles strength and frontal plane kinematics (contralateral pelvic drop, femoral adduction, and knee valgus) in elite HB athletes using 2D analysis. Design: Cross-sectional and correlational study. Methods: Thirty-four male professional HB athletes were recruited. Athletes had to perform a deep single-leg squat. The frontal plane was recorded using the Camera app on iPhone (5SE). The clinical variables were hip abductor muscles strength assessed using a Lafayette hand-held dynamometer version 01165, and frontal plane kinematics measured with Kinovea 2D software version 0.9.4. Both variables were measured independently by two different examiners. Results: The correlation analysis showed a statistically significant negative correlation between the hip abductor muscles strength and the pelvic drop angle (p < 0.001; PCC: −0.873). A statistically significant positive correlation was found between the hip abductor muscles strength and the femoral adduction angle (p < 0.001; PCC: 0.767) and between the hip abductor muscles strength and the knee valgus angle (p < 0.001; PCC: 0.855). Conclusion: Hip abductor muscles strongly correlate with frontal plane kinematics in HB athletes.

A Beta Version of an Application Based on Computer Vision for the Assessment of Knee Valgus Angle: A Validity and Reliability Study

“…While it would be ideal to compare the beta application based on computer vision with a 3D analysis system such as the ©VICON Motion System from Oxford, UK, the similarity of the results with previous studies that have compared traditional 2D analysis with 3D analysis systems (which reported SEM values ranging from 2 • to 5 • ) is encouraging [32]. The findings of the present study also showed that the knee valgus angle values observed in elite handball athletes during a singleleg squat were lower than those reported in other studies with elite handball athletes [10]. However, it is important to note that the study did not focus on describing the knee valgus or its relationship with injury risk.…”

“…Several authors measured the reliability of Kinovea by assessing the lower limb kinematics in frontal and sagittal planes, which showed excellent values. Thus, Kinovea seems to be a free, portable, and easy-to-use software that may be used by clinicians and researchers [10,[12][13][14][15]27].…”

“…The valgus angle, which refers to the angle between the distal femur and tibia concerning the body's midline, is a crucial measurement in understanding knee joint mechanics, as defined by Hewett et al [8]. While advanced three-dimensional (3D) motion capture systems have traditionally been the gold standard for evaluating the knee valgus angle [9], they can be expensive and time-consuming to set up, making them impractical for many clinicians in daily practice [10]. As an alternative, the evaluation of the lower limb kinematics using two-dimensional (2D) software has been extensively explored [10][11][12][13][14][15].…”

“…While advanced three-dimensional (3D) motion capture systems have traditionally been the gold standard for evaluating the knee valgus angle [9], they can be expensive and time-consuming to set up, making them impractical for many clinicians in daily practice [10]. As an alternative, the evaluation of the lower limb kinematics using two-dimensional (2D) software has been extensively explored [10][11][12][13][14][15]. Kinovea, a popular 2D motion analysis software, has emerged as a reliable tool for measuring lower limb kinematics in both frontal [14] and sagittal [13] planes.…”