Hip Drop

A frontal plane movement where one side of the pelvis drops below horizontal during single-leg stance or gait. Visible as a contralateral pelvic drop when standing on one leg. Commonly assessed during the Trendelenburg test and single-leg squat.

Hip drop indicates gluteus medius weakness or inhibition on the stance leg side. It increases valgus stress at the knee, overloads the IT band, and creates asymmetric spinal loading. It is one of the most common findings in runners with knee pain, IT band syndrome, and low back pain. Correcting hip drop requires addressing the neuromuscular control deficit, not just strengthening the gluteus medius in isolation.