Relationship between exacerbating patellofemoral pain and dynamic knee valgus in females with patellofemoral pain after a patellofemoral joint loading protocol: A cross-sectional

Ali Yalfani; Fatemeh Ahadi; Mohamadreza Ahmadi; Azadeh Asgarpoor

doi:10.1016/j.ptsp.2024.02.003

Relationship between exacerbating patellofemoral pain and dynamic knee valgus in females with patellofemoral pain after a patellofemoral joint loading protocol: A cross-sectional

Phys Ther Sport. 2024 Feb 19:67:13-18. doi: 10.1016/j.ptsp.2024.02.003. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Ali Yalfani¹, Fatemeh Ahadi², Mohamadreza Ahmadi³, Azadeh Asgarpoor⁴

Affiliations

¹ Professor, Department of Sport Injuries and Corrective Exercises, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Bu-ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran. Electronic address: yalfani@basu.ac.ir.
² Professor, Department of Sport Injuries and Corrective Exercises, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Bu-ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran. Electronic address: f.ahadi@phe.basu.ac.ir.
³ Professor, Department of Sport Injuries and Corrective Exercises, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Bu-ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran. Electronic address: m.ahmadi01@phe.basu.ac.ir.
⁴ Professor, Department of Sport Injuries and Corrective Exercises, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Bu-ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran. Electronic address: a.asgarpoor@phe.basu.ac.ir.

PMID: 38428188
DOI: 10.1016/j.ptsp.2024.02.003

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the present study is to 1) the effect of exacerbating patellofemoral pain (PFP) on dynamic knee valgus (DKV) 2) the relationship between exacerbating PFP and DKV in females with patellofemoral pain.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Methods: Sixty women with PFP were recruited from the orthopedic clinics. We evaluated pain intensity and DKV in two conditions without (condition 1) and with (condition 2) PFJ loading during the single-leg squat (SLS) task. The MANOVA test was used to compare pain intensity and DKV angle between the two conditions. Furthermore, the Pearson correlation was used to examine the correlation between pain intensity with DKV angle.

Results: The MANOVA analysis showed that pain intensity (P < 0.000, η2 = 0.623) and DKV angle (P < 0.000, η2 = 0.544) with a medium effect size significantly increased after PFJ loading. Furthermore, an excellent positive correlation was observed between an increase in pain intensity and DKV angle (P < 0.000, r = 0.840).

Conclusion: It seems that after the PFJ loading protocol and the subsequent pain exacerbation, the neuromuscular biomechanics of the lower limb are deficits. As a result, the stabilizing muscles activation decreases and increases the lower limb movement in the frontal plane.

Keywords: Dynamic knee valgus; Loading; Pain; Patellofemoral joint; Patellofemoral pain.