Differences in pain and function between adolescent athletes and physically active non-athletes with patellofemoral pain

Author(s)

Ferreira, Amanda Schenatto ^[1] ; Silva, Danilo de Oliveira ^{[2, 1]} ; Del Priore, Liliam Barbuglio ^[1] ; Gomes Garcia, Carmen Lucia ^[1] ; Maiolini Ducatti, Matheus Henrique ^[1] ; Balotari Botta, Ana Flavia ^[1] ; Waiteman, Marina Cabral ^[1] ; de Azevedo, Fabio Micolis ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Sao Paulo State Univ UNESP, Sch Sci & Technol, Lab Biomech & Motor Control LABCOM, Presidente Prudente, SP - Brazil

^[2] La Trobe Univ, Sch Allied Hlth, La Trobe Sports & Exercise Med Res Ctr LASEM, Bundoora, Vic - Australia

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: PHYSICAL THERAPY IN SPORT; v. 33, p. 70-75, SEP 2018.
• Web of Science Citations: 1

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate pain level and function limitation in adolescent athletes and physically active non-athletes with PFP. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Adolescent athletes were recruited at a sport center complex. Adolescent non-athletes were recruited from upper secondary schools. Participants: 108 adolescents diagnosed with PFP: 42 adolescent athletes and 66 adolescent non athletes. Main outcome measures: To evaluate the level of pain, a visual analog scale (VAS) was used and to evaluate the overall function, the Knee Outcome in Osteoarthritis Survey (KOOS) was used. Results: The adolescent athletes scored significantly higher in the VAS (Mean difference = 0.97 (95% Cl = 0.35; 1.60) p = 0.003) compared to adolescent non-athletes. Adolescent athletes scored lower in the KOOS - Symptoms, Pain, Knee-related quality of life and Sport and recreation dimensions - than the non athletes, however, the minimally clinically important difference was not achieved in Pain dimension. There was no significant difference in the Activities of daily living dimension of the KOOS. Conclusions: Adolescent athletes presented higher levels of pain and lower physical function status compared with physically active non-athletes. This provides an important insight to the management of PFP in adolescent athletes as worst functional status is linked with poor prognosis in patients with PFP. (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier Ltd. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/02357-1 - Analysis of the hip torque and kinematics of the femur and rearfoot considering the ascending and descending theories as causal factors of patellofemoral pain
• Grantee: Amanda Schenatto Ferreira
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master