Case Study: Rehabilitation of a Collegiate Football Placekicker With Patellofemoral Arthritis

Abstract

A 24-year-old NCAA Division I collegiate football placekicker presented in the clinic 4 months postseason complaining he had begun to experience pain and stiffness in his knee with subsequent loss of power and distance with his kicks toward the latter part of the previous season. He was placed on a rehabilitation program which included utilizing end-range isotonics for the quadriceps, short-arc isokinetics at intermediate speeds, and full range isokinetics at high contractile speeds for knee extension and flexion, lower extremity stretching, electrical stimulation to the quadricep musculature, and underwater kicking workouts along with placekicking and kickoff workouts. The patient was treated in the clinic 3 times per week for 8 weeks and upon discharge subjectively reported having regained distance and power with his kicks. Pre- and post-Cybex testing revealed an increase in peak torque at 60 and 180 degrees /sec of 14 and 15%, respectively, of the quadriceps in the affected kicking leg. This study details one form of intervention in patellofemoral syndrome associated with the specialized sport skill of placekicking.J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 1988:10(6):224-227.