EVALUATION OF A TREATMENT ALGORITHM FOR PATIENTS WITH PATELLOFEMORAL PAIN SYNDROME: A PILOT STUDY

摘要

Treatment of patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) has been extensively studied in physical therapy literature. Patients with PFPS demonstrate quadriceps and hip musculature weakness, altered lower extremity (LE) kinematics, and decreased LE flexibility. Psychosocial factors have also been identified as an important factor in patients with PFPS. The authors hypothesize that an ordered approach addressing each of these impairments sequentially will result in greater improvement in PFPS symptoms. The purpose of this pilot study was to assess the feasibility of performing a randomized trial and to determine the sample size necessary to examine the validity of this hypothesis.