Effect of Modified Clamshell Exercise on Gluteus Medius, Quadratus Lumborum and Anterior Hip Flexor in Participants with Gluteus Medius Weakness

Abstract

PURPOSE: This study compared the effects of three different clamshell exercises (CLAM) on the gluteus medius (GMED), quadratus lumborum (QL), anterior hip flexor (AHF), gluteus medius/quadratus lumborum ratio, and gluteus medius/anterior hip flexor ratio by studying the activities of participants with GMED weakness. METHODS: Eleven subjects with weak GMED participated in this study. Subjects performed CLAM under three different conditions (standard, and modified 1 and 2). Surface electromyography was then used to measure the muscle activity and one-way repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to assess the statistical significance of the measured variables. RESULTS: GMED and the QL muscle activities did not differ significantly between the standard CLAM and the modified CLAM with the 2 different foot positions (F=4.74, P=.02; F=4.57, P=.02, respectively). AHF activity was significantly different in the two different foot positions when compared to the standard CLAM (F=11.17, P=.00). However, there was no significant difference between the AHF activities for the two different foot positions (P=.09). Finally, GMED/QL and GMED/AHF ratios were not significantly different between the three different CLAM exercises (F= .63, P=.55; F=.82, P=.45, respectively). CONCLUSION: Modified CLAM can be recommended as a good method to minimize AHF activity while maintaining GMED activity in subjects with weak GMED.