OBJECTIVES To determine the immediate effects of Kinesio taping directed to the hip and manipulation directed to the lumbopelvic region in individuals with unilateral patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS). BACKGROUND PFPS affects up to 25% of the general population. Despite the high prevalence, this condition is not clearly understood, as evidenced by the numerous proposed causes and recommende...

We examined the effects of medially wedged foot orthoses on knee and hip joint mechanics during running in females with and without patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS). We also tested if these effects depend on standing calcaneal eversion angle. Twenty female runners with and without PFPS participated. Knee and hip joint transverse and frontal plane peak angle, excursion, and peak internal knee...

OBJECTIVES To examine the diagnosis and management of adults attending a sports injury clinic, to establish to what extent the management of the two most common injuries treated at this clinic is evidence based, and to explore factors that affect management. METHODS A retrospective examination of 100 random case notes extracted age, sex, sport, type and site of injury, treatment, and outcome....

STUDY DESIGN Randomized clinical trial. OBJECTIVES To determine if females with patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) who perform hip strengthening prior to functional exercises demonstrate greater improvements than females who perform quadriceps strengthening prior to the same functional exercises. BACKGROUND Although PFPS has previously been attributed to quadriceps dysfunction, more recent...

CONTEXT The gluteus medius (Gmed) is proposed to consist of 3 functional subdivisions (anterior, middle, and posterior). Gmed weakness and dysfunction have been implicated in numerous lower extremity disorders, including patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS). PFPS is a knee condition that frequently occurs in females and is associated with activities such as squatting and stair climbing. There is...

BACKGROUND Quadriceps atrophy is a commonly cited accompaniment to patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS), yet there is little valid, objective evidence for its existence. OBJECTIVE To investigate atrophy and weakness of the quadriceps femoris muscle group in patients with PFPS using measures of cross-sectional area and peak extension torque. METHODS A total of 57 patients with insidious onset...

Development of patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is considered to be multifactorial. The aims of this systematic review were to (i) summarise and critique the body of literature addressing kinematic gait characteristics associated with PFPS; and (ii) provide recommendations for future research addressing kinematic gait characteristics associated with PFPS. A comprehensive search of MEDLINE, E...

STUDY DESIGN A case control study, with single observation. OBJECTIVES To compare the onset timing and activation of the vastus medialis oblique (VMO) and vastus lateralis (VL) between subjects with and without patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) at various step heights. BACKGROUND It has been theorized that delayed or reduced VMO activity relative to the VL contributes to lateral patellar ...

STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional case-control design. BACKGROUND Although the etiology of patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is not completely understood, there is some evidence to suggest that hip position during weight-bearing activities contributes to the disorder. OBJECTIVE To compare the knee and hip motions (and their coordination) during stair stepping in female athletes with and withou...

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of patellar taping of the proprioceptive status of patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS). A total of 32 subjects (18 males, 14 females of age 31.9 +/- 11.2, body mass index 25.8 +/- 5.3) with PFPS were tested for Joint Position Sense (JPS) using a Biodex dynamometer. Outcomes of interest were the absolute error (AE), the variable error ...