Study participants completed exercises supervised by a physical
therapist 3 times per week for 8 weeks. Exercises were performed
bilaterally in patients with bilateral pain and on the symptomatic
side in patients with unilateral pain. Each session consisted of 5
minutes of warm-up (walking around the gym at a self-selected
pace), 20 minutes of directed exercise, and 5 minutes of cooldown
(walking around the gym at a self-selected pace). Patients
participating in the study were asked to refrain from exercises
beyond that of their assigned exercise sessions throughout the
duration of the study. Patients were allowed to take over-thecounter
pain and/or anti-inflammatory medication as needed;
however, subjects were asking to refrain from taking medications
for 24 hours before sessions in which outcome measurements
were obtained.
Patients assigned to both groups performed standardized protocols.
Resistance and repetitions were progressed at 2-week intervals
(table 2). TheraBand elastic tubinga was used to provide
resistance during each exercise. Subjects were required to complete
at least 19 out of the 24 treatment sessions (w80%) to
remain in the study. In addition, if a patient missed 3 consecutive
treatment sessions, their participation in the study was terminated.
All subjects completed the required number of treatment sessions
over the 8-week intervention period.
Patients assigned to the posterolateral hip exercise group
performed 2 exercises: one targeting the hip abductors and the
other targeting the hip external rotators. Hip abductor strengthening
was performed with patients positioned sidelying on a
treatment table. Elastic tubing was tied just above the ankle at
one end and attached to the bottom of the treatment table at the
other (fig 2). The length of tubing was individualized across
patients based on their lower limb length (distance from the
anterior superior iliac spine to the medial malleolus). The distance
between the exercise limb and the bottom of the treatment
table was adjusted to remove slack from the tubing. Patients were
allowed to hold on to the edge of the table for stabilization
purposes. The exercise was performed against the resistance by
abducting the hip from 0 to 30.24
Hip external rotator strengthening was performed with patients
seated at the edge of a treatment table and the knee flexed to 90
(fig 3). A strap was used to prevent sagittal and frontal plane
motion of the thigh. Elastic tubing was tied around the ankle and
was secured to a rigid pole. The length of tubing was individualized
across patients based on thigh length (distance from the
anterior superior iliac spine to the medial femoral epicondyle).
The distance between the exercise limb and pole was adjusted