There is a relationship between visual inspection and three-dimensional motion analysis during performance of forward step-down test in women with and without patellofemoral pain?

• Grant number: 17/05347-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2018
• End date: December 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy
• Principal Investigator: Fábio Mícolis de Azevedo
• Grantee: Carmen Lucia Gomes Garcia
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (FCT). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Presidente Prudente. Presidente Prudente , SP, Brazil

Abstract

PFP is characterized as peri or retropatellar insidious pain that is aggravated by activities that increase stress in patellofemoral joint (PFJ). It affects young and physical active individuals, being most frequent in women. The main factor attributed to PFP is the increase stress in PFJ. Regarding the proximal factors, studies demonstrate alterations in the population with PFP as: greater ipsilateral trunk lean angle and greater contralateral pelvis inclination angle. Regarding the local factors, changes such as increase in the knee dynamic valgus are evidenced. Thus, there is a need to establish a clinical test capable of identifying changes presented by individuals with PFP, since more accurate analyzes such as three-dimensional motion analysis are generally restricted to the laboratory environment and are generally not feasible in clinical practice. In this way, the forward step-down test (FSD) has good applicability in clinical practice, besides simulating the descending stairs, a movement that usually exacerbates pain. Thus, the objective of the study is to simultaneously evaluate the quality of movement (visual inspection) and the kinematics of the trunk, hip and knee during the performance of the FSD in women with and without PFP. The sample will consist of 32 women, 16 in PFP group and 16 in the control group. Two evaluations will be carried out simultaneously during the FSD: (1) assessment of movement quality (visual inspection) and (2) kinematic evaluation. We hypothesize in this project that women with PFP will present during the FSD a greater angle of ipsilateral trunk lean, greater contralateral pelvis inclination angle in the frontal plane and greater knee abduction angle when compared to the control group. In addition, it is hypothesized that the analyzed variables will correlate in both assessment methods, in order to conclude that the functional test is able to identify the changes detected by the kinematic evaluation, proving to be a useful tool in clinical practice. (AU)