The Effect of Strength Exercise Program on the Hip Abductor and Lateral Rotator Muscles in Correcting Pronated Foot

Pronated foot is one of the most common abnormalities associated with navicular drop and may be influenced by the hip muscles. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a strength exercise program on the hip abductor and lateral rotator muscles in pronated foot. This study was a randomized clinical trial of pre-and post-test. Thirty male subjects (ages 18-25) with pronated foot participated in this study and were randomly divided into control and experimental groups. Before starting strength training program, the pronated foot was measured by navicular drop test and the strength of hip abductor and lateral rotator muscles assessed using hand-held dynamometer. The experimental group participated in strength training program three days a week for six weeks. The control group was asked to continue their daily activity. After 6 weeks, pronated foot and muscles strength were measured again. Descriptive statistics, t-test for independent samples and paired sample t-test were applied for statistical analysis. The findings showed significant increase between pre and post-tests in the strength of hip abductor (p<0.001) and lateral rotator (p<0.000) muscles and pronated foot (p= 0.001) for the experimental group while no differences were observed in the control group (p>0.05). In comparison, the results showed that in both the experimental and control groups, at pre-test, there was no significant difference in pronated foot (p= 0.781) however, significant differences were observed in the post test (p= 0.043). The results indicated that increasing the strength of hip abductor and lateral rotator muscles can decrease navicular drop and correcting pronated foot.