Hip Strength Changes over the Course of 1 Year Between Male and Female Collegiate Soccer Athletes

Hip strength is related to movement quality, lower extremity biomechanics, and injury risk, but there is minimal evidence about how these measures change year-over-year in competitive collegiate student-athletes. PURPOSE: To determine how hip strength changes between 2 preseasons in male and female collegiate soccer athletes. METHODS: Thirty collegiate soccer athletes (13 M, 17F, age = 20.8 ± 1.4 years, height = 173.5 ± 8.5, mass = 71.4 ± 8.72 kg) were tested in the preseason of 2021 and 2022 for hip abduction and adduction peak strength. Isometric hip strength was collected in a supine position with the knees bent to 90 degrees and hips flexed to 45 degrees. Three trials of hip abduction and hip adduction were performed on the right and left legs. Forces were standardized to body weight of the individuals, and the average force per bodyweight (%BW) of the trials was used for the analysis. Linear mixed models were used to compare hip strength across year (2021 and 2022), sex (male and female), and the interaction between them. Limb was included as a covariate, and participant ID was used as a random intercept. Post-hoc testing was performed with t-tests. Analysis was significant when p < 0.05. RESULTS: There was no significant interaction for either hip abduction or hip adduction (p > 0.05). For hip abduction, there was a significant effect of year (F = 13.9, p < 0.001), and team (F = 5.45, p = 0.02). Post-hoc testing showed a 7.2%BW difference between males and females (p = 0.02) and 3.1%BW increase in strength between years (p < 0.001). For hip adduction, there was a main effect of year (F = 4.70, p = 0.03), with post-hoc testing revealing a 2.4%BW increase in strength between years (p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Males demonstrate higher hip abduction strength, and both hip abduction and adduction strength increase over the course of a year. Since hip strength is critical for injury prevention, these measures could be used to determine who may be at risk for lower extremity injury. Future research should identify the magnitude of strength gains year-over-year to determine benchmarks for normal strength development.