Comparing the Knee joint Proprioception Between Female Volleyball Players With Patellofemoral Pain syndrome and Healthy Peers

Abstract

Background and Aims Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is one of the common knee disorders, which can cause injuries or more complicated medical conditions. Proprioception is one of the factors that can be considered in the assessment of people with PFPS. The present study aims to compare the knee joint proprioception between female volleyball players with PFPS and healthy peers. Methods In this quasi-experimental study, 30 female athletes (16 with PFPS and 14 healthy) with a mean age of 24.33±3.39 years, height of 178.72±3.28 cm and weight of 67.76±8.04 kg participated. Knee joint proprioception was evaluated in two modes: weight-bearing (single-leg squat) and non-weight-bearing (knee extension). Kinematic data were recorded by eight motion capture cameras (Vicon, UK) at a frequency of 1000 HZ. Statistical analysis was done in SPSS software, version 26 using independent t-test. The significant level was set at 0.05. Results Findings showed that the error of reconstruction angles in weight-bearing (P=0.001) and non-weight-bearing (P=0.003) conditions was significantly different between the two groups. Conclusion The knee joint proprioception is weaker in female volleyball players with PFPS than in healthy peers, which can lead to more injuries. it is recommended to strengthen the proprioception in athletes with PFPS during treatment and rehabilitation, and more accurate tests should be designed to evaluate it.