Brief Summary

Patellofemoral Pain (PFP) is one of the most common causes of knee pain and is significantly present in recreational athletes who have previously been categorized as being in a subgroup of PFP. Understanding which intervention is most appropriate for this subgroup could give us important information about subgroup-based treatments, which are not yet described in the literature. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyze the effect of two exercise interventions in a PFP subgroup: one focusing on neuromuscular control exercises and the other focusing on muscle strengthening.This study will recruit 10 individuals to each exercise group, and will assess pain, function, muscle activity and joint kinematics pre and post intervention. Mixed Model ANOVA tests will be used to determine the responses to the two interventions between the two groups over a 6-week treatment time.

Conditions

• Patellofemoral Pain

Intervention / Treatment

• Other: Exercise
• Other: Muscle strengthening

Primary Outcome Measures

• Pain intensity (From enrollment to the end of treatment at 6 weeks)
  Full name: Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) Minimum value: 0; Maximum value: 10. Direction: Higher scores indicate a worse outcome, that is, greater pain intensity. Interpretation: 0: no pain 1-3: mild pain 4-6: moderate pain 7-10: intense/severe pain

Countries

Portugal

Locations and Investigators

• Faculty of Sport of University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
  • Ana Luiza Costa e Silva Cabral
  • Ana Luiza Costa e Silva Cabral, Master's degree (Principal Investigator)
  • João Paulo Vilas-Boas, Full professor (Principal Investigator)
  • Jim Richards, Full professor (Principal Investigator)