The Pelvic Girdle and Hip Joint 199much and in what manner this influ-
ences muscle use is an area that needs
further investigation. For example,
looking at the line of pull on skeletal
models, one would theorize that this
position of external rotation would
place the hip adductors in a more key
role in movement execution during
standing (closed kinematic chain
movements). In a second-position
grand plié, for instance, the motion
occurs closer to a frontal plane rather
than in a sagittal plane. This would
place the hip adductors in a position
to work concentrically on the rise to
help bring the legs back together (hip
adduction) and eccentrically on the
lowering phase to control the separa-
tion of the legs. The knee extensors
(quadriceps femoris) would still be
required to produce knee extension
on the up-phase and to control knee
flexion on the down-phase of the plié,
but their use could be de-emphasized if
greater focus was placed on the motion
at the hip. This concept that using
turned-out positions enhances recruit-
ment of the hip adductor muscles was
given preliminary support by findings
that highly skilled ballet and modern
dancers without patellofemoral pain
showed recruitment of the hip adduc-
tors when performing second-position
grand pliés. Furthermore, standing
in first position showed sustained hip
adductor activity in some dancers, and
use of images to enhance hip external
rotation was accompanied by increased
hip adductor activation in some danc-
ers (Clippinger-Robertson, 1984).
However, the variability of use of
adductors seen between dancers sug-
gests that use of the hip adductors is
likely a learned activation achieved by
some dancers in line with the cues and
aesthetics of some schools of dance.
This conjecture is also given support
by another study that found only 58%
of the dancers studied utilized the hip
adductors in the rising phase of the
demi-plié (Trepman et al., 1994). Fur-
thermore, in the author’s experience,
when using exercises like the wall plié
to help dancers direct their knees moreFIGURE 4.33 Strength exercises for the turnout muscles. (A) Prone
passé with tubing, (B) side-lying passé with band, (C) prone frog on ball.