Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS) is an umbrella term used for pain arising from the patellofemoral joint itself, or adjacent soft tissues (1). PFPS is a multifactorial condition requiring an individualised multi-modal approach. Common biomechanical contributions include abnormal tracking of the patella, lower extremity malalignment, decreased flexibility, and weakness of the hip abductors/external rotators, and quadriceps muscles (1). Due to the multifactorial nature of PFPS, a “one-size-fits-all” approach proves ineffective, and suggests a treatment approach addressing multiple factors is necessary to treat PFPS.
Subjective findings may include
- Pain felt around the knee cap.
- Pain with activities such as:
- Prolonged knee flexion i.e. sitting
- Standing from chair, running, squatting, going up or down steps.
- Fear of movement. A recent study has shown that elevated activity-related fear was common in this population group (particularly in adolescents) and should be considered in treatment (2).
Objective findings may include
- Pain with palpation around the patella borders.
- Pain with squatting.
- Poor hip, knee and/or ankle biomechanics during functional activities such as squatting or running (1).
Acute management
- Soft tissue massage or dry needling to loosen tight structures (3).
- Patella taping (1,3).
- Increase chair height to reduce knee flexion or use of a foot stool.
- Pre-fabricated orthotics to reduce foot pronation (1,3).
Long term management
- Specific exercises to strengthen and correct biomechanics depending on impairments. The evidence shows that hip-focused with knee-focused exercise therapy regimen resulted in superior outcomes to isolated knee-focused exercise therapy (3,5).
- Running re-training (6).
- Weight loss.
References:
1. Crossley, K. M., van Middelkoop, M., Callaghan, M. J., Collins, N. J., Rathleff, M. S., & Barton, C. J. (2016). 2016 Patellofemoral pain consensus statement from the 4th International Patellofemoral Pain Research Retreat, Manchester. Part 2: recommended physical interventions (exercise, taping, bracing, foot orthoses and combined interventions). Br J Sports Med, 50(14), 844-852.
2. Selhorst, M., Rice, W., Jackowski, M., Degenhart, T., & Coffman, S. (2018). A sequential cognitive and physical approach (SCOPA) for patellofemoral pain: a randomized controlled trial in adolescent patients. Clinical rehabilitation, 0269215518787002.
3. Barton, C. J., Lack, S., Hemmings, S., Tufail, S., & Morrissey, D. (2015). The ‘Best Practice Guide to Conservative Management of Patellofemoral Pain’: incorporating level 1 evidence with expert clinical reasoning. Br J Sports Med, 49(14), 923-934.
4. https://www.pivotalmotion.physio/patellofemoral-pain-syndrome/
5. Nakagawa, T. H., Muniz, T. B., Baldon, R. D. M., Dias Maciel, C., de Menezes Reiff, R. B., & Serrão, F. V. (2008). The effect of additional strengthening of hip abductor and lateral rotator muscles in patellofemoral pain syndrome: a randomized controlled pilot study. Clinical rehabilitation, 22(12), 1051-1060.
6. Noehren, B., Scholz, J., & Davis, I. (2011). The effect of real-time gait retraining on hip kinematics, pain and function in subjects with patellofemoral pain syndrome. British journal of sports medicine, 45(9), 691-696.