Sex Differences in the Relationship of Hip Strength and Functional Performance to Chronic Ankle Instability Scores
Abstract Background: Preliminary studies have reported differences in strength and functional performance between sexes for patients with anterior cruciate ligament injury or reconstruction. Similar sex differences may occur in chronic ankle instability (CAI) populations. Factors like hip abduction strength and functional performance may be contributors to sex differences in CAI populations, but their presence and magnitude is unclear. While decreased hip abductor strength, functional performance, and self-reported instability scores have all been shown in association with CAI, any sex difference in the relationship between these indicators is unclear. The study was to determine if sex differences are present in the relationship between these indicators in individuals with CAI.Methods:Thirty-two women and twenty-nine men with unilateral CAI took part. Hip abductor strength and functional performance were respectively assessed using a hand-held dynamometer and the figure-8-hop test. All 61 participants scored the Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool (CAIT) for self-reported ankle instability.Results: Normalized hip abductor strength and functional performance measures for females were lower than for males. The self-reported ankle instability CAIT score, where higher values represent less instability, was significantly and positively correlated with normalized hip abductor strength and functional performance on the affected side in females (all p < 0.01), but not in males (all p > 0.19).Conclusions: Sex differences were observed in the relationships of normalized hip abductor strength and functional performance to CAIT scores from the CAI, holding for females but not males, and suggesting that evaluation and rehabilitation strategies should be sex-specific.