Contribution of the evaluation of the clinical signals in patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome

OBJECTIVE As patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is a common disorder characterized by multifactorial etiology and whose the most prevalent symptom is a diffuse pain, usually located on the retropatellar region, however, it also shows signs and symptoms that can be related as excessive subtalar pronation, external tibial torsion, patellar displacement alterations, painful range of motion of the knee, pain in the patellar borders, muscular tightness and changes in quadriceps angle (Q Angle), the objective of this work was to determine the frequency of these signs and symptoms associated to a previous knee pain questionnaire. METHODS Thirty-nine sedentary female volunteers had been evaluated, divided in two groups, PFPS (19) and Control (20). These subjects were evaluated for signs and symptoms described above, in addition to pain assessment by questionnaire. RESULTS The results demonstrated a high frequency of pain in six of the thirteen questions in relation to the control group. CONCLUSION According to these findings, we conclude that the functional evaluation of individuals with PFPS should consist of a previous knee pain questionnaire and an evaluation of the characteristic signs and symptoms for examination of the entire lower limb during static and functional situations. Level of Evidence II, Diagnostic Studies.