Hip Mobility Is Associated with Isokinetic Hip Adduction Torque in Recreationally Active Females: An Exploratory Study

This exploratory study examined whether trunk and hip mobility are associated with isokinetic hip torque in recreationally active females. Twenty-two women completed standing isokinetic hip testing at 60°·s⁻¹, yielding peak torque (PT; normalised to body mass), time to peak torque, and joint angle at peak torque for hip flexion–extension and abduction–adduction. Segmental (lumbar, thoracic, hip) and global mobility indices, composites of active range of motion, were quantified with inertial measurement units. Ninety-six Spearman correlations were computed with Benjamini–Hochberg false-discovery-rate (FDR) control; regression models were fitted post hoc. Two associations survived FDR correction: dominant hip adduction PT was related to hip mobility (r = .70, 95% CI .36 to .87) and to global mobility (r = .66, 95% CI .34 to .84). A segmental model accounted for 49% of the variance (adjusted R² = .485), with hip mobility the only stable predictor (β = 0.57, 95% CI 0.13 to 1.00). Sensitivity analyses indicated that this finding was robust to the construction of the indices and was carried mainly by hip flexion range of motion, which is unrelated to the fixed testing excursion. A side-matched analysis weakened the dominant-side association (r = .57). Associations of global mobility with the timing and angle of non-dominant adduction torque did not survive correction. The global index contains the hip index (r = .85), so the two are not independent constructs. Hip mobility is associated with hip adduction torque magnitude; the findings are hypothesis-generating and require confirmation in larger, preferably longitudinal studies.