Active clinical trials for "Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome"

Patellofemoral pain syndrome is a condition of misleading diagnosis. It mostly affects individuals with ages between 18-40 years. It is believed that much work has been done on the joint itself in treating the Quadriceps muscles and triggers related to it but now literature is focusing on the segmental involvement, where weakness of the hip abductors and lateral rotators play a major role. Therefore, interventions used for treating this syndrome should include on focusing the hip muscles for trigger point therapy as well as strengthening them in increasing the stability of the hip and pelvis to reduce excessive valgus forces on the knee.

Neuromuscular exercise and taping are widely used in the rehabilitation of Patellofemoral Pain. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of corrective kinesio taping applied on patellofemoral joint and foot in addition to a progressive neuromuscular exercise program in women with Patellofemoral Pain on knee pain and muscle strength.

The purpose of this study is to determine if interventions applied at a distant site, lumbopelvic region (manipulation and TENS), have a similar effect as interventions applied locally at the knee (TENS) on quadriceps force output and activation as well as reports of pain during common exercises in individuals with PFPS.

Musculoskeletal conditions account for the third leading cause of health systems expenditure in Australia. Patellofemoral pain syndrome or pain about the knee cap is such a condition often treated in primary care. Both the individual and community are affected by this condition with an estimated 1 in 4 sufferers having problems and pain up to 20 years after first being afflicted. Importantly, it interferes with activities such as walking, jogging, gym classes and aerobics, which are often prescribed to prevent serious conditions of the heart, diabetes and obesity. Hence, it negatively impacts the health and well being of our nation. Two popular treatment options that are commonly prescribed for the management of patellofemoral pain syndrome are physiotherapy and foot orthotics. To date, there is some evidence supporting physiotherapy, especially current best practice methods, such as a combined program of therapeutic exercise, manual therapy and kneecap taping. There is a lack of evidence for the use of orthotics in treating patellofemoral pain syndrome. This project will conduct a randomised clinical trial to evaluate the relative benefits of orthotics as the sole treatment of patellofemoral pain syndrome and also when combined with physiotherapy. Factors associated with predicting the results of orthotic therapy will be studied to see if there are any tests that a health care practitioner can perform to provide information early on in a consultation regarding possible treatment outcomes. A cost-benefit analysis will also be conducted to calculate the relative economic merits of the treatments. A tangible outcome of this project will be the development of clinical guidelines for the most effective method of treating patellofemoral pain syndrome in primary health care.

The aim of this research is to compare the effects of kinesiotaping and mulligan taping on pain, hamstring flexibility, cadence and physical performance of lower limb in patients suffering from patellofemoral pain syndrome according to time duration 24, 48 and 72 hours. Randomized controlled trial done at Riphah International University Rawalpindi campus, Pakistan Railway Hospital and private clinics of twin cities. The sample size was 20. The subjects were divided in two groups, 10 subjects in kinesiotaping group and 10 in mulligan taping group. Study duration was 1 year. Sampling technique applied was non probability convenient sampling technique. Both males and females of 20-35 age bracket having anterior knee pain for more than 2 months and ≥3 pain on NPRS while performing activities i.e. ascending descending stairs, squatting and sitting for extending periods of time were included in study. Tools used in study are NPRS, Kujala pain rating sale, goniometer, active knee extension test, time up and go test.

Patients with PFPS demonstrate quadriceps and hip musculature weakness, altered lower extremity (LE) kinematics, and decreased LE flexibility. Psychosocial factors have also been identified as an important factor in patients with PFPS. The authors hypothesize that an ordered approach addressing each of these impairments sequentially will result in greater improvement in PFPS symptoms. The results of the investigators pilot study assessing the feasibility of using a sequential approach showed a full randomized controlled trial is warranted, the authors now plan to proceed with a full trial. The objective of this study is to assess the efficacy of a sequential approach in the treatment of Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome. Methods: Patients will be randomized to a sequential treatment approach using a PFPS treatment algorithm (PFPS Algorithm) designed by the authors or typical physical therapy care. Due to the constant evaluation necessary no blinding will be performed. Patients will attend therapy two times per week for six weeks. Pain, Anterior Knee Pain Scale (AKPS), and Global Rating of Change (GROC) will be measured at evaluation and discharge, 3 month follow-up and 6 month follow-up.

The patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is defined as a painful complaint in the anterior aspect of the knee, although peripatellar pain and / or retropatellar are also common. In general, conservative treatment is the initial option of choice for patients with PFPS, however, the lack of a specific causal factor makes it difficult to choose the best treatment so early. This way, the purpose of this study is investigate the effects of the quadriceps femoris strengthening versus hamstring stretching in patients with pattellofemoral pain.

The purpose of this study is to determine the safety and effectiveness of intra-articular hyaluronan (IAHA) injections for the treatment of symptomatic patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) and determine if this treatment can provide incremental clinical benefits over standard care for patients with this diagnosis.

The aim of the study is to assess the immediate effects of passive hip joint mobilisation (in comparison to a sham mobilisation) on eccentric hip abductor/external rotator muscle strength on the basis of manual muscle testing with a hand-held-dynamometer within a double-blinded cross-over study design. Patients with anterior knee pain and signs of impaired hip function will be recruited in Vienna and surrounding area, measurements/data collection will be conducted by two experienced physiotherapists in a physiotherapy group practice in 1150 Vienna.

Patellofemoral Pain (PFP) is a common knee problem, primarily affecting adolescents and young adults. PFP is characterised by significant retropatellar and/or peripatellar pain and impairment of function and quality of daily life. Exercise therapy is unequivocally recommended as a core component of the management of PFP. Different exercise types (e.g. quadriceps strengthening, hip strengthening and functional/neuromuscular exercises) have been investigated, with knee and hip strengthening exercises as the most common and recommended types. These exercises approaches produce similar small to moderate effects on pain and physical function. However, the PFP population is very heterogeneous and "one-size-fits-all"-approaches presumably are sub-optimal because the heterogeneity is ignored. The heterogeneity probably explains the overall limited beneficial effects of exercise, and the lack of differences in direct comparisons of different exercise types. In that sense, it is not unlikely that certain patient characteristics may predict outcome success of either a hip training program or a training program that focus on the quadriceps but this remains to be shown. This study has two aims: To assess the comparative effectiveness of two different exercise programs (Quadricep Exercise [QE] vs. Hip Exercise [HE]) on self-reported pain and function in individuals with PFP. To explore candidate patient characteristics that predict differential responses to the two exercise programs (QE vs HE) on self-reported pain and physical function in individuals with PFP. According to the study aims we pursue the following hypothesis: - QE and HE have equivalent efficacy on self-reported pain after 12 weeks of treatment in patients with PFP. The second study aim is to explore possible candidate patient characteristics that may associate with differential outcomes. As this is exploratory, the pursuit of this aim is hypothesis-free.