Abstract
Introduction: Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders affecting the knee joint. Conservative treatment reduces pain and improves functional capacity in the short and medium-term. Objective: To determine the therapeutic effect of two muscle strengthening exercise programs in patients with PFPS from Bogotá, Colombia, aged between 15 and 40 years. Materials and methods: Experimental randomized controlled clinical trial conducted in 40 patients with PFPS from Bogotá, Colombia, aged 15-40 years, with a mild to moderate level of physical activity. Participants were randomly distributed into 2 intervention groups: Group A: 8-week-long core, hip and knee muscles strengthening exercises program; Group B: 8-week-long hip and knee muscles strengthening exercises program. The level of pain was measured using the Visual Analog Scale and the Kujala Anterior Knee Pain Scale. Results: The addition of core muscle strengthening exercises to the traditional treatment improved the quality of life of participants in the intervention group A, where a significant reduction of pain, with a statistically significant difference in the total score of the Kujala scale (p=0.025) was observed. Conclusions: Including core muscle strengthening exercises in the conservative management of PFPS increases its effectiveness to reduce pain and improve the quality of life of these patients.
Highlights
Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders affecting the knee joint
PFPS accounts for 11% to 17% of all knee pain cases, and its prevalence in physically active adolescents and adults ranges from 21% to 45% and from 15% to 33%, respectively,[5,6,7] being higher in women, mainly because their Q- angle is higher than in men.[2,8,9,10]
40 people with PFPS were randomly distributed into group A (n=20) and group B (n=20); only 19 participants of each group were able to complete the intervention program since one person in Group A presented with patellar luxation and a person in Group B withdrew from the study as a result of a concomitant condition that made impossible the proper execution of the exercises
Summary
Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders affecting the knee joint. There are several therapeutic alternatives to treat this condition, provided that, in patients with PFPS, healing knee pain is essential to improve their participation rates in physical and sports activities, which in turn will help them improve their body functionality and quality of life.1113. In this sense, conservative (non-surgical) treatment for PFPS, based on physical therapy exercises, may lead to clinically significant pain level reductions, improvement of the knee functional capacity, and functionality recovery in the short and medium-term. The best way for a physical therapist to treat this disorder is still unclear; likewise, it is unknown if conservative management should be used with all patients with PFPS.[2,4,14,15]
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