Physiotherapist-led education and exercise for patients with MRI-verified hip abductor tendon pathology: a prospective cohort study.

Authors

Mathias Høgsholt, Signe Kierkegaard-Brøchner, Jeppe Lange, Bent Lund, Stian Langgård Jørgensen, Kristian Thorborg, Marie Bagger Bohn

Published in

BMJ open. Volume 16. Issue 9. Pages e120837. Sep 11, 2026. Epub Sep 11, 2026.

Abstract

To investigate changes in lateral hip pain following a 3-month, physiotherapist-led, education and exercise programme in patients with clinically and MRI-verified hip abductor tendon pathology.
Prospective cohort study.
Secondary care, Danish public teaching hospital.
From May 2024 to July 2025, 60 patients (100% women) with lateral hip pain duration of >6 months, aged 18-75 years (mean age 58.2), MRI-verified hip abductor tendon pathology were included; 55 patients completed the intervention.
Patient education on load management and modification of daily activity was provided through seven physiotherapist-led sessions over 3 months. Additionally, patients followed an individually progressed daily home-based exercise programme.
The primary outcome was change in the subscale pain of the revised Copenhagen Hip and Groin Outcome Score (HAGOS). Secondary outcomes included hip-related patient-reported outcomes and health-related quality of life, isometric hip muscle strength and a 30-second Chair Stand Test (30s-CST).
Adherence to the exercise protocol was 85%. The mean (95% CI) score in the revised HAGOS pain improved from 46.4 (41.5 to 51.2) to 60.1 (54.4 to 65.7) at 3 months follow-up. Clinically relevant improvements were observed in secondary hip-related patient-reported outcomes, alongside improvements in generic patient-reported outcomes. Minor strength improvements were observed, while the 30s-CST improved from 11.7 (10.6 to 12.9) to 14.2 (12.8 to 15.6) repetitions.
Following 3 months of physiotherapist-led, combined patient education and exercise therapy, patients with clinically and MRI-verified hip abductor tendon pathology, seen in secondary care, experienced clinically relevant changes in lateral hip pain measured by the revised HAGOS pain.
NCT06418217.

PMID:
42727969
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 12 Sep 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.