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NCT Number: NCT06924164

Progressive Resistance Training for Adults With External Snapping Hip

External snapping hip is characterised by an audible and painful snap during hip movement among physical active people around 15-40 years old. Progressive resistance training has been suggested as a new potential treatment path in treating patients with external snapping hip. The investigators conducted a feasibility study and found that patients reported less pain and improved their physical function, quality of life and muscle strength after 12 weeks of progressive resistance training. The overall aim of the project is to compare hip pain in patients with external snapping hip treated with progressive resistance training to a wait-and-see approach, in a randomised controlled trial. This study has the potential to establish a new and specific treatment option for patients with external snapping hip, to be used nationally and internationally.

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Key information

Conditions

External Snapping Hip Behavior Coxa Saltans External Motor Activity

Age range

18 year–40 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Aalborg Universitetshospital, Aalborg, Denmark

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About this study

This trial is an international multicentre randomised controlled assessor-blinded crossover trial, following the CONSORT guidelines. The intervention is a 12-week progressive resistance training programme, and the trial is designed with three follow-up time points. After the baseline test, the patients will be randomised in a 1:1 ratio to either the intervention or the control group using the Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) source hosted at Aarhus University. For both groups, the first test will be the baseline test, conducted before the randomisation. The second test will be conducted 6 weeks after randomisation, the third test will be conducted 12 weeks after randomisation and the fourth and last test will be conducted 24 weeks after randomisation. The primary outcome will be the change from baseline to the third follow-up, and the trial will be powered based on this period. The lasting effect of the intervention will be evaluated from baseline to the fourth follow-up test for the intervention group.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Age 18-40 years (10)
  • Experienced lateral hip joint "snapping" with pain discomfort within the last 14 days
  • Able to demonstrate the audible and/or visible lateral "snapping" during lateral hip joint movementor popping sound when the hip joint moves
  • Capable of commuting to the training facility
  • Proficient in reading and understanding Danish or English

Exclusion criteria

  • Previous surgery on the affected hip
  • Planned surgery on lower extremities within the trial period
  • Anterior or medial hip discomfort that substantially exceeds the lateral hip discomfort
  • Any contraindication to exercise
  • Neurological, rheumatoid, or mental conditions affecting the hip function
  • Ongoing active cancer treatment
  • Planned vacation for more than 14 days within the intervention period
  • Pregnancy

Treatment and study plan

Progressive resistance training

Other

The progressive resistance program consist of a five-minute aerobic warm-up on either an ergometer bike, treadmill or rowing machine followed by six resistance training exercises: landmine twist, walking lunges, leg press, hip abduction, hip adduction and hip flexion. All training sessions (three per week) will be supervised for the first two weeks. After that, there will be one weekly supervised training session and two self-directed sessions. The subjects will be scheduled for 36 training sessions over 12 weeks, of which 16 will be supervised. Each training session is designed based on the findings from the feasibility study and is expected to last approximately one hour. If a subject cannot perform all scheduled sessions in a week, additional sessions will be planned for the following week to obtain the 16 supervised sessions.

Other names: Exercise therapy

Waiting time

Behavioral

12 weeks of waiting time

Other names: Waitlist, Wait

Self guided exercise

Behavioral

12 weeks of self guided exercise

Other names: Wait, Self training

Primary outcomes

  1. HAGOS Pain

    Time frame: Baseline, week 6, week 12 and week 24

    The HAGOS is a patient-reported questionnaire consisting of six different subscales. The pain subscale consists of 10 questions, which are all answered using standardised answer options following a 0-4-point Likert Scale. The scores are transformed into a subscale score ranging from 0 (worst) to 100 (best). A minimal clinically relevant difference of the HAGOS pain subscale has been reported to be 9.7 points among a group of patients undergoing hip arthroscopy for femoroacetabular impingement.

Secondary outcomes

  1. HAGOS

    Time frame: Baseline, week 6, week 12 and week 24

    The remaining five subscales of HAGOS: symptoms, function in daily living (ADL), function in sport and recreation (Sports/Rec), participation in physical activities (PA) and hip and/or groin-related quality of life (QOL). The scores are transformed into a subscale score ranging from 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

  2. UCLA-AS

    Time frame: Baseline, week 12 and week 24

    The patient-reported questionnaire: the University of California Los Angeles Activity Scale. There is only one question with 10 answers, ranging from 1 (worst) to 10 (best).

  3. GPE

    Time frame: Baseline, week 12 and week 24

    The patient-reported questionnaire: the Global Perceived Effect, where the participant answers four questions about the effect of the treatment received. Each question has 7 possible answers, ranging from 1 (best) to 7 (worst).

  4. Single leg hop test

    Time frame: Baseline, week 12 and week 24

    The objective measures include the single-leg hop for a distance test to test hip function. The hop distance is measured in cm.

  5. 30 second unilateral sit-to-stand test

    Time frame: Baseline, week 12 and week 24

    The unilateral 30 second Sit to Stand test (unilateral 30STS) is a clinical test of lower extremity function. The unilateral 30STS tests how many correct repetitions of a sit to stand from a chair, a participant can complete in 30 seconds.

  6. Number of training sessions the participant participated in

    Time frame: Throughout the study, summed in week 24

    Adherence to the exercise protocol will be evaluated based on information from the physiotherapists and a self-reported training diary. Good adherence will be defined as participation in more than ≥70% of all training sessions (both supervised and self-training).

  7. Adverse events

    Time frame: Throughout the study, summed in week 24

    The physiotherapist will record any adverse events occurring during the study period.

Other outcomes

  1. EQ-5D-5L

    Time frame: Baseline, week 12 and week 24

    The patient-reported questionnaire: the European Quality of life 5 Dimensions with 5 Levels (EQ-5D-5L) where the participant answers six questions in relation to health-related quality of life

  2. iPCQ

    Time frame: Baseline, week 12 and week 24

    The patient-reported questionnaire: the Productivity Costs Questionnaire, where information on productivity is collected .

  3. HUQ

    Time frame: Baseline, week 12 and week 24

    Health Utilisation Questionnaire (HUQ) where information on healthcare and medicine is collected.

  4. Usage of analgesics due to hip-related pain

    Time frame: Baseline, week 12 and week 24

    The participants will be asked if they take any analgesics due to hip-related pain. If yes, they will be further asked what type of medicine (Paracetamol/NSAID/Morfin/Other) and how often (Never/Monthly/Weekly/Daily).

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Inger Mechlenburg, DMSc

CONTACT

[email protected]

4521679062

Lisa U Tønning, MHSc

CONTACT

[email protected]

+4526474080

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Aarhus University Hospital

Other

Collaborators

  • University of Aarhus

Registry information

Official study title

Snappy Hip Trial: A Randomized Crossover Trial Comparing the Clinical and Cost-effectiveness of Progressive Resistance Training Compared to Usual Care on Pain for Adults With External Snapping Hip

Acronym: Snappy Hip

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2027
Study completion
2027
First posted
Apr 11, 2025
Registry last updated
Jul 10, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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