A Review Study on Various Conservative Management Strategies for Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome: What Is the Best Intervention?

Background & Aims: Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders with various conservative therapeutic methods for its management. The aim of this study was to investigate national research regarding the effects of conservative treatment methods of PFPS. Methods: The review process was performed using the keywords of anterior knee pain, PFPS, quadriceps strengthening exercises, hip muscle strengthening exercises, taping, bracing, orthoses, exercise therapy, manual therapy, and physiotherapy. The search engines used included Islamic World Science Citation Center (ISC), IranMedex, Google Scholar, MedLib, Magiran, Scientific Information Database (SID), and PubMed. Only 15 articles had the study inclusion criteria. The findings related to the effects of conservative therapeutic methods on pain intensity, balance, function and physical ability, and knee joint proprioception in patients with PFPS were extracted from the selected articles. Results: The majority of articles focused on exercise therapy as an important part of the rehabilitation program. They had reported improvement in patients with PFPS in terms of pain intensity, disability, and proprioception as a result of exercise therapy. Although, other therapeutic methods also had positive effects on these patients, they were not as effective as therapeutic exercise. Conclusion: Current literature supports the continued use of exercise therapy as an efficient treatment in patients with PFPS. However, designing and implementation of new therapeutic interventions encompassing other treatment methods and evaluation of their long term effects through follow-up assessments is essential.