Sex-Specific Hip Movement Is Correlated With Pelvis and Upper Body Rotation During Running

Abstract

There is a sex bias for common overuse running injuries that are associated with sex-specific hip kinematics. Gait retraining programs aimed at altering hip kinematics may be more efficient if they incorporated an understanding of how hip kinematics are correlated with the movement of the remaining body segments. We applied a principal component analysis to structure the whole-body running kinematics of 23 runners (12 ♀) into k = 12 principal movements (PMk), describing correlated patterns of upper and lower body movements. We compared the time-dependent movement amplitudes with respect to each PMk between males and females using a waveform analysis and interpreted our findings according to stick figure animations. The movement amplitudes of two PMs (PM6 and PM8) showed statistically significant effects of “sex,” which were independent of running speed. According to PM8, females showed more hip adduction, which correlated with increased transverse rotation of the pelvis and upper body compared to men. We propose that increased hip adduction and upper body rotation in female runners may be a strategy to compensate for a less efficient arm and upper body swing compared to men. Gait interventions aimed at reducing hip adduction and running-related injuries in female runners should consider instructions for both upper and lower body to maximize training efficacy.

Whole-body movement analysis using principal component analysis: What is the internal consistency between outcomes originating from the same movement simultaneously recorded with different measurement devices?

“…Furthermore, if a whole group of participants perform a movement systematically different compared to another group, then it is likely that differences in movement strategy can be observed in a higher-order PM. One good example for such opposite behavior can be found in Mohr et al (2021) , where differences in running between the sexes were analyzed and directly opposite behavior of the sexes was in fact found in PM 8 .…”

“…Using PCA, one decomposes the variance in high-dimensional, complex signals into a set of principal component (PC) vectors, each explaining a portion of the total variance. As input for a PCA on human movement, many recent studies have been using body-segment locations represented by marker positions ( Federolf et al, 2012 ; Ross et al, 2018 ; Armstrong et al, 2021 ; Mohr et al, 2021 ). For example, when collecting movement data using a 39-marker full-body marker set, this results in a 117-dimensional input matrix for the PCA (39 markers with an x, y and z dimension).…”

Quantitative downhill skiing technique analysis according to ski instruction curricula: A proof-of-concept study applying principal component analysis on wearable sensor data

“…Thereto, the PP(t) graphs were submitted to a waveform-PCA, i.e. inputs were the 100-point waveform shapes ( Mohr et al, 2021 ). The scores of the first component, i.e.…”

Are Altered Kinematics in Runners With Patellofemoral Pain Sex Specific?

“…Considering that the groups of runners with PFP ran a shorter weekly distance, future studies could assess the influence of this variable on the kinematics of these runners. Finally, knowing that pelvis and trunk movements can influence hip adduction during running 23 and that muscle fatigue influences hip adduction in other pathological conditions of the knee (iliotibial band syndrome), 2 it is important that future studies investigate the relationship of these factors in runners with PFP.…”