PhD defence P. (Pim) van Klij

This thesis contains multiple studies investigating normal values of hip muscle strength, hip range of motion and hip- and groin symptoms in professional athletes (football players during a whole season and field hockey players). Hip muscle strength remained stable during the season and previous injuries resulted in more hip and-groin related symptoms during the current season. In a systematic review we found that an abnormal hip shape (cam morphology) can be best classified with a specific measure, called the alpha angle, with a cut-off value of 60 degrees. In addition, hip joint development was investigated in professional adolescent football players of the Feyenoord Academy. In these chapters it is shown that cam morphology only develops during growth, that the orientation of the hip and growth plate matter, that cam morphology limits the range of motion of the hip joint and that the association with hip and groin related symptoms is not fully clear. Based on a literature search, cam morphology is associated with an increased risk of hip osteoarthritis later in life.

Due to corona, the PhD defences do not take place publicly in the usual way in the Senate Hall or in the Professor Andries Querido Room. The candidates will defend their dissertation either in a small group or online.