Figure 3

Hip abductor and external rotator muscle training. For the non-weight bearing and weight bearing exercises, the patient will perform a 20 second hold and aim to perform 3 repetitions, daily. The non-weight bearing exercise (A) will be performed in side-lying with the treatment limb uppermost and both limb flexed to 45° at the hip and 90° at the knee. Ideally the patient’s back and plantar surface of the foot are placed against a wall for control of position and movement. The patient raises the top limb off the other, such that the hip is in ~30° abduction/external rotation before returning to the starting position. The weight bearing exercise (B) is performed with the patient standing side-on to a wall with body rotated slightly to face into the wall. The leg closest to the wall is flexed at the knee so that the foot is off the ground, and the hip is in neutral flexion/extension. The foot of the leg closest to the wall is tucked behind the knee of the outer leg. The standing leg knee should be bent slightly. The patient is instructed to squeeze the bottom together and hold this throughout the movement, then turn the knee of the standing leg out without moving the foot or pelvis. The bent leg is held against the wall for balance only.