Musculoskeletal Science & Practice · Nov 2026
Dose-response relationship between training volume and outcomes for hip osteoarthritis: Exploratory study from The Hip Booster Trial
By Larsen AG, Foldager FN, Dalgas U et al.
Objective To explore associations between training volume and changes in patient-reported hip pain and physical function, performance-based function, and muscle power in patients with hip osteoarthritis. Design Exploratory cohort study with data from The HipBooster Trial. Setting Five hospitals and 10 physiotherapy clinics across Denmark. Participants 144 of 160 patients who had complete training and outcome data. Interventions Participants were randomized to 12 weeks of twice-weekly progressive resistance training (PRT) or neuromuscular exercise (NEMEX). Main outcome measures Hip disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (HOOS) pain and Activities of Daily Living (ADL), 30-second chair stand test (30s-CST), and leg extensor power (LEP) assessed at baseline and post-intervention. Results In the PRT group, each 10 000 kg increase in total training volume across 24 sessions was associated with an increase of 1.13 (95% CI: -0.01; 2.26) points for HOOS pain, 1.33 (95% CI: 0.26; 2.39) for HOOS ADL, 0.12 (95% CI: -0.10; 0.33) repetitions in the 30s-CST, and 2.37 (95% CI: -0.68; 5.43) watts in LEP. In the NEMEX group, each 2 000 repetitions increase in total training volume was associated with an increase of 1.12 (95% CI: -0.61; 2.85) points for HOOS pain, 1.92 (95% CI: 0.13; 3.70) for HOOS ADL, 0.31 (95% CI: -0.08; 0.70) repetitions in the 30s-CST, and -1.25 (95% CI: -5.92; 3.43) watts in LEP. Conclusion Greater total training volume seems associated with slightly greater improvements in pain and physical function in hip osteoarthritis. These findings should be interpreted cautiously, given the exploratory nature of the study.