Abstract

Objective. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a 2½-week conservative rehabilitation programme in addressing anterior knee pain in adolescents. Design. Subjects were randomly allocated to a control group (N=12) and an experimental group (N=18). The experimental group was subjected to a 2½-week strength, flexibility and neuromuscular rehabilitation programme. Both groups were tested before and after the 2½ weeks and the experimental group also 1 month after the post-test. Results. The experimental group reported significant (p

Highlights

  • Anterior knee pain is a common condition that affects a wide age range of patients.[5]

  • Advantages are the short duration and the fact that patients are familiarised with a home programme which they are likely to continue with

  • The mean duration of anterior knee pain for the subjects selected for the study was 16 months

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Summary

Introduction

Anterior knee pain is a common condition that affects a wide age range of patients.[5]. 23 Over the years a number of stereotypical symptoms have been identified, namely: pain in the vicinity of the patella worsened by prolonged sitting, ascending or descending stairs, squatting and vigorous physical activity.[5,27,21] The onset of anterior knee pain is insidious, and tends to be bilateral.[21,24,17] The condition is common among adolescents and young adults, especially females.[27,24,7] The exact aetiology is unknown but a number of predisposing factors have been suggested as possible causes.[27] These include overuse, muscle imbalance, muscle tightness, trauma, overweight, genetic predisposition, valgus or varus knee, external tibial torsion, increased Q angle, abnormal mechanics of the foot and ankle, especially pronation, and generalised ligament laxity.[27,17,13] In many cases it appears that the onset of anterior knee pain coincides with the period of the adolescent growth spurt.[19] Surgical intervention is not recommended and often there is no demonstrable anatomical abnormality.[16] Conservative treatment for anterior knee pain should always be the first approach.[22] Many studies reported good results with conservative treatment.[26,13,28]

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