Article

Clinical musculoskeletal pain commonly accompanies hip pathology and
can impact balance performance. Due to the cross-sectional designs of previous
studies, and the multifactorial nature of musculoskeletal pain conditions, it is
difficult to determine whether pain is a driver of balance impairments in this
population. This study explored the effects of experimentally induced hip muscle
pain on static and dynamic balance. METHODS: Twelve healthy adults (4 women,
mean[SD]: 27.1[3] years) performed three balance tasks on each leg, separately:
single-leg standing (eyes closed), single-leg squat (eyes open), forward step
(eyes open); before and after hypertonic saline injection (1ml, 5% NaCl) into the
right gluteus medius. Range, standard deviation (SD), and velocity of the centre
of pressure (CoP) in medio-lateral (ML) and anterior-posterior (AP) directions
were considered. RESULTS: During the single-leg squat task, experimental hip pain
was associated with significantly reduced ML range (-4[13]%, P=0.028), AP range
(-14[21]%, P=0.005), APSD (-15[28]%, P=0.009), and AP velocity (-6[13]%,
P=0.032), relative to the control condition, in both legs. No effect of pain was
observed during single-leg standing and forward stepping. Significant between-leg
differences in ML velocity were observed during the forward stepping task
(P=0.034). DISCUSSION: Pain is a potentially modifiable patient-reported outcome
in individuals with hip problems. This study demonstrates that acute hip muscle
pain alone, without interference of musculoskeletal pathology, does not lead to
the same impairments in balance as exhibited in clinical populations with hip
pathologies. This is the first step in understanding how and why balance is
altered in painful hip pathologies.
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Langue : ANGLAIS