Anterior Knee pain (AKP) is a common condition, especially in a young active population. The clinical presentations of this condition vary considerably and therefore an individualized approach to treatment is needed. The primary objective of this study was to assess the effect of a novel targeted biomechanical intervention on subjects with AKP.
A case series was conducted on eight participants with AKP Setting: The study was conducted at the Tygerberg motion analysis laboratory and Tygerberg physiotherapy clinic in Cape Town, South Africa. Eight subjects (5 females; 3 males) diagnosed with AKP were included in this case series Intervention: Participants received a six week subject-specific Functional Movement Retraining (FMR) intervention Main outcome measures: Three dimensional hip, knee and ankle kinematics were used for analysis for each participant pre and post intervention. Pain was measured weekly using the Numeric pain rating scale (NPRS). Two functional scales (Lower Extremity Functional Questionnaire and Anterior Knee Pain Scale), were used to assess pain and function the pre and post intervention.
All eight subjects demonstrated improved pain levels (NPRS), and functional outcomes (AKPS, LEFS). Seven of the eight participants (87.7%) demonstrated improvements in their main biomechanical outcome. A subject- specific functional movement retraining intervention may be successful in the treatment of subjects with AKP presenting with biomechanical risk factors. Research on a larger sample is required to further investigate this approach.