The effect of hip and knee exercises on pain, function, and strength in patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Background/aim: The role of hip muscles in the rehabilitation of patellofemoral pain syndrome has recently received interest. The aim of this study was to compare the efficiencies of hip exercises alongside knee exercises versus only knee exercises on pain, function, and isokinetic muscle strength in patients with this syndrome. Materials and methods: Fifty-five young female patients (mean age: 34.1 ± 6.2 years; mean BMI: 25.9 ± 3.9 kg/m2) with patellofemoral pain syndrome were included. The patients were randomized into groups of hip-and-knee exercises and knee-only exercise programs for 6 weeks with a total of 30 sessions at the clinic. Both groups were evaluated before therapy, after 6 weeks of a supervised exercise program, and after 6 weeks of an at-home exercise program. The outcome measures were muscle strength, pain, and both subjective and objective function. Results: The improvements of the patients in the hip-and-knee exercise group were better than in patients of the knee-only exercise group in terms of scores of pain relief (P < 0.001) and functional gain (P = 0.002) after 12 weeks. Conclusion: We suggest additional hip-strengthening exercises to patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome in order to decrease pain and increase functional status.