Targeted Functional Movement Retraining to Improve Pain, Function, and Biomechanics in Subjects With Anterior Knee Pain: A Case Series
in Journal of Sport RehabilitationClick name to view affiliation
Context: Anterior knee pain (AKP) is a common condition, especially in a young active population. The clinical presentations of this condition vary considerably, and therefore, an individualized approach to treatment is needed. Objective: The primary objective of this study was to assess the effect of a novel targeted biomechanical intervention on subjects with AKP. Design: A case series was conducted on 8 participants with AKP. Setting: The study was conducted at the Tygerberg Motion Analysis Laboratory and Tygerberg Physiotherapy Clinic in Cape Town, South Africa. Participants: Eight subjects (5 females and 3 males) diagnosed with AKP were included in this case series. Intervention: Participants received a 6-week subject-specific functional movement retraining intervention. Main Outcome Measures: Three-dimensional hip, knee, and ankle kinematics were used for analysis for each participant preintervention and postintervention. Pain was measured weekly using the Numeric Pain Rating Scale. Two functional scales (Lower-Extremity Functional Scale and Anterior Knee Pain Scale) were used to assess pain and function the preintervention and postintervention. Results: All 8 subjects demonstrated improved pain levels (Numeric Pain Rating Scale) and functional outcomes (Anterior Knee Pain Scale and Lower-Extremity Functional Scale). Seven of the 8 participants (87.7%) demonstrated improvements in their main biomechanical outcome. Conclusion: A subject-specific functional movement retraining intervention may be successful in the treatment of subjects with AKP presenting with biomechanical risk factors. Research on a larger sample is required to further investigate this approach.
Leibbrandt and Louw are with the Department of Physiotherapy, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
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