Enhancing Stability and Function in Adolescent

Delta University for Science and Technology

Status: Completed

Conditions: Adolescents; Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome

Treatments: Other: core exercises; Other: Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06696872

Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study investigated the comparative effects of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching and core strength exercises on static balance in adolescents with patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS).

Enrollment: 40 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 16 to 18 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Participants were between 16 and 18 years old.
• Patients had to have experienced anterior knee pain for at least 4 weeks, with the pain being exacerbated by at least two of the following activities: jumping, running, prolonged sitting, stair climbing, kneeling, and squatting (Chevidikunnan et al., 2016).
• Participants could not have undergone any surgical procedures on their lower limbs.
• Pain during the previous week needed to be greater than 30 mm on a 100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS) (Appendix I) (Rathleff et al., 2015).
• A spectrum of BMI was sought, with participants recruited to represent normal BMI percentile categories for both boys and girls. The normal BMI percentile categories for both boys and girls were defined as the 5th percentile to less than the 85th percentile (Appendix II) (King et al., 2012).

Exclusion criteria

• Adolescents with cruciate ligament injuries, meniscal injuries, collateral ligament injuries, and tenderness associated with any of these structures, any intra-articular injury, and tenderness over the iliotibial band, patellar tendon, pes anserine tendons, or evidence of joint effusion.

  • Adolescents with referred pain from the hip or lumbar region, or a known case of articular cartilage damage.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

---

40 participants in 2 patient groups

Core exercises

Experimental group

Description:

The participants were taught how to contract their deep abdominal muscles to obtain core muscle activation. The patient should be contracting the abdominal muscles, lifting her lower belly up away from pubic bone, while breathing slowly and normally. The patient should not hold her breath

Treatment:

Other: core exercises

Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation

Experimental group

Description:

The hold-relax proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation stretching protocol consisted of passively moving the dominant leg into a position where the subjects felt mild discomfort and holding that position for 30 seconds. Subjects were then asked to isometrically contract the stretched muscle for 10 seconds; this were followed by muscle relaxation in the same position for 30 seconds, before being stretched to a new point of mild discomfort. The leg were then released

Treatment:

Other: Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation