Addition Effect of the Ankle Manual Therapy to Muscle Strengthening Exercise in Women With Patellofemoral Pain

Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome Clinical Trial

— PhD_Bruno  

Official title:

Addition Effect of the Calf Stretching and Ankle Mobilization to Quadriceps and Gluteus Strengthening on Knee Pain and Function in Women With Patellofemoral Pain: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Not yet recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT04631614
• Other study ID #: PhD_Bruno
• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: October 2024
• Est. completion date: December 2025

Study information

• Verified date: June 2024
• Source: Universidade Federal do Ceara
• Contact: Bruno Augusto Lima Coelho, PhD student
• Phone: +55 (85) 98804-1026
• Email: brunolimafisioterapia[@]outlook.com
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is the most common overuse injury of the lower limb, its prevalence is around 20% in general population, and women are more likely to develop PFP compared to men. PFP may develop as a result of increased pressure and joint stress due to an reduction in contact area in the patellofemoral joint. The excessive dynamic knee valgus is an important contributor to patella misalignment and for the increasing of laterally directed forces on the patella, and restriction in ankle dorsiflexion range of motion (ROM) has been previously associated with excessive dynamic knee valgus. Although the evidence shows that strengthening exercises for the quadriceps and gluteus promote improvement of knee pain and function, there is a lack of studies that investigate if targeted interventions for improvement ankle dorsiflexion may promote additional benefits in knee pain and function when performed in combination with strengthening exercises. Thus, the aimed of this study is analyze the addition effect of calf stretching and ankle mobilization to quadriceps and gluteus strengthening on knee pain and function in women with PFP who display ankle dorsiflexion restriction.

Description:

The study sample will be formed by 68 women with PFP who show ankle dorsiflexion restriction, divided into two groups: Experimental Group (EG, n = 34), that will receive two manual therapy techniques (calf muscle stretching and ankle mobilization) followed by five muscle strengthening exercises focusing on quadriceps and posterolateral hip complex (PHC), and; Control Group (CG, n = 34), that will receive only the five muscle strengthening exercises focusing on quadriceps and PHC. The treatment sessions will be individual and supervised by a physiotherapist, will last 40-50 minutes and will perform twice a week for six weeks. Before starting each treatment session, both groups will perform warm up with a walk or exercise bike for 5 minutes.

The calf muscle stretching will be performed passively in two repetitions with 30 seconds of held in the stretching position and 30 seconds of rest between repetitions. The ankle mobilization will be performed using the Weight-bearing Mobilization with Movement (WB-MWM) technique, being applied in two sets of 10 repetitions with two minutes of rest between sets.

The five muscle strengthening exercises will be as follows: (a) clam exercise; (b) hip abduction exercise in side lying; (c) knee extension exercise in a sitting position; (d) squat exercise, and; (e) forward lunge exercise. All exercises will be performed in three sets of 12 repetitions with on minutes of rest between sets and two minutes of rest between exercises.

Regarding the intensity of the exercises, this will be monitored by the physiotherapist according to the perception of the level of effort and difficulty reported by the participant when completing the series of each exercise, according to the specifications of the modified Borg scale (CR-10). The exercises will be carried out with a load between 60-80% of the capacity and level of effort reported by the participant. The load will be increased by 2-10% when the patient is able to perform 12 full repetitions in the last series of the exercise with perceived effort <60%.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Enrollment: 68
• Est. completion date: December 2025
• Est. primary completion date: December 2024
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Female
• Age group: 18 Years to 35 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Presence of anterior knee pain for at least 3 months, unrelated to any traumatic knee event and reproducible by performing at least two of the following activities: sitting for a long time, squatting, kneeling, ascending or descending stairs, walking or running long distances, and performing jump-landing tasks;

• Anterior knee pain in the previous week with an intensity of at least 3 points on numeric pain rating scale (NPRS);

• Score in the Anterior Knee Pain Scale less than or equal to 86 points, and;

• Limited ankle dorsiflexion range of motion in closed kinetic chain, identified by a weight-bearing lunge test in which the distance between foot and wall being less than or equal to 10 cm.

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of surgery or fracture in the lumbar spine, hip, knee, ankle, or foot;

• Referred pain from the lumbar spine, hip, ankle, or foot;

• History of patellar subluxation;

• Presence of knee swelling;

• Presence of meniscal, ligament or tendon injury, and;

• Osgood-Schlatter or Siding-Larsen-Johansson syndrome.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome

Intervention

Other:
• Warm up
Warm up through a walk or exercise bike for 5 minutes with moderate intensity according to modified Borg scale (CR-10)
• Passive calf muscle stretching
With the participant lying in the supine position, the physiotherapist will passively perform the ankle dorsiflexion movement to stretch the participant's calf to the limit tolerated by the participant. This procedure will be performed in two repetitions with 30 seconds of held in the stretching position and 30 seconds of rest between repetitions.
• Ankle joint mobilization - weight-bearing mobilization with movement (WB-MWM) technique
To perform the WB-MWM technique, the participant will be instructed to take a weight-bearing position with the tibia in a vertical position. The physiotherapist will be stay in front participant's ankle and will use the hands to stabilize the participant's foot as close as possible to the anterior region of the talus. A rigid belt will be placed on the participant's tibia and around physiotherapist´s hip. Then, the physiotherapist will project his hip backwards to produce a nonpainful anterior tibia glide. The participant will be asked to perform a forward lunge as far as possible without raising heel off the table and without reproducing knee symptoms. After achieving the maximum forward lunge, the participant will be instructed to hold this position for 5 seconds and then return to the starting position. This procedure will be performed in two sets of 10 repetitions with two minutes of rest between sets.
• Clam exercise
The participant will side lying with trunk straight and both hips and knees at 45º and 90º of flexion, respectively. An elastic band will be used as external resistance, that will be positioned above the participant's knee. The individual will be instructed to perform the abduction and lateral rotation of the hip (keeping the heels in contact) against the resistance of the elastic band and then return to starting position. This exercise will be performed in three sets of 12 repetitions with on minutes of rest between sets. The exercise will be carried out with a load between 60-80% of the capacity and level of effort reported by the participant, according to the specifications of the modified Borg scale (CR-10). The load will be increased by 2-10% when the patient is able to perform 12 full repetitions in the last set of the exercise with perceived effort <60%.
• Hip abduction exercise in side lying
The participant will side lying with trunk straight, both hips in a neutral position and both knee in extension. An elastic band will be used as external resistance, that will be positioned above the participant's knee. The individual will be instructed to perform the hip abduction against the resistance of the elastic band and then return to starting position. This exercise will be performed in three sets of 12 repetitions with with on minutes of rest between sets. The exercise will be carried out with a load between 60-80% of the capacity and level of effort reported by the participant, according to the specifications of the modified Borg scale (CR-10). The load will be increased by 2-10% when the patient is able to perform 12 full repetitions in the last set of the exercise with perceived effort <60%.
• Knee extension exercise in a sitting position
The participant will be seated at the treatment table with the trunk straight and both knees in 90º of flexion. The external resistance will be positioned above the participant's ankle. The individual will be instructed to perform the knee extension at a protective angle (90º-45º of flexion), progressing to full extension (90º-0º of flexion) as long as the full knee extension does not reproduce the knee pain symptoms. Then, the participant will should return to starting position. This exercise will be performed in three sets of 12 repetitions with with on minutes of rest between sets. The exercise will be carried out with a load between 60-80% of the capacity and level of effort reported by the participant, according to the specifications of the modified Borg scale (CR-10). The load will be increased by 2-10% when the patient is able to perform 12 full repetitions in the last set of the exercise with perceived effort <60%.
• Squat exercise
The participant will be stand with the trunk straight, knees in extension and feet hip-width apart. Dumbbells will be used as external resistance.The individual will be instructed to perform the squat movement at a protective angle (0º-45º of knee flexion), progressing to a deep squat (90º of knee flexion) as long as the movement does not reproduce the knee pain symptoms. Then, the participant will should return to starting position. This exercise will be performed in three sets of 12 repetitions with with on minutes of rest between sets. The exercise will be carried out with a load between 60-80% of the capacity and level of effort reported by the participant, according to the specifications of the modified Borg scale (CR-10). The load will be increased by 2-10% when the patient is able to perform 12 full repetitions in the last set of the exercise with perceived effort <60%.
• Forward lunge exercise
The participant will be stand with one lower limb in a long stride forwards of the other limb, trunk straight and both knee in extension. Dumbbells will be used as external resistance. From this position, the participant will be instructed to bend both knees to lower your body at a protective angle (0º-45º of knee flexion), progressing to a greater knee flexion (90º) as long as the movement does not reproduce the knee pain symptoms. Then, the participant will should return to starting position. This exercise will be performed in three sets of 12 repetitions with with on minutes of rest between sets. The exercise will be carried out with a load between 60-80% of the capacity and level of effort reported by the participant, according to the specifications of the modified Borg scale (CR-10). The load will be increased by 2-10% when the patient is able to perform 12 full repetitions in the last set of the exercise with perceived effort <60%.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Brazil	Bruno Augusto Lima Coelho	Fortaleza	Ceará

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Universidade Federal do Ceara

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Brazil, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Numeric Pain Rating Scale	Pain will be assessed by use of an 11-point Numeric Pain Scale, where 0 correspond to no pain and 10 correspond to worst imaginable pain.	At the end of the six weeks of treatment
Primary	Anterior Knee Pain Scale	The subjective functional capacity of the participant will be recorded with the translated and validated Portuguese-language version of the Anterior Knee Pain Scale (AKPS). The scores for this scale, 0 to 100, represent the lowest to the highest levels of functional capacity, respectively.	At the end of the six weeks of treatment
Secondary	Numeric Pain Rating Scale	Pain will be assessed by use of an 11-point Numeric Pain Scale, where 0 correspond to no pain and 10 correspond to worst imaginable pain.	At 3 and 6 months follow-up
Secondary	Anterior Knee Pain Scale	The subjective functional capacity of the participant will be recorded with the translated and validated Portuguese-language version of the Anterior Knee Pain Scale (AKPS). The scores for this scale, 0 to 100, represent the lowest to the highest levels of functional capacity, respectively.	At 3 and 6 months follow-up
Secondary	Weight-Bearing Lunge Test	The ankle dorsiflexion range of motion in closed kinetic chain will be measured by the distance between foot and wall in the weight-bearing lunge test.	At the end of the six weeks of treatment
Secondary	Dynamic knee valgus	The dynamic knee valgus will be assessed by 2D kinematic through measurement of frontal plane projection angle of the knee during the forward step-down test.	At the end of the six weeks of treatment
Secondary	Isometric strength of the quadriceps	The quadriceps isometric strength will be assessed using a handheld dynamometer (Nicholas Manual Muscle Test, Lafayette Instrument Company, Lafayette, Indiana, USA). The evaluation will be performed with the participant in a sitting position, straight trunk and knee at 90º of flexion.	At the end of the six weeks of treatment.
Secondary	Isometric strength of the hip posterolateral complex	The hip posterolateral complex isometric strength will be assessed using a handheld dynamometer (Nicholas Manual Muscle Test, Lafayette Instrument Company, Lafayette, Indiana, USA) during the Hip Stability Isometric Test (HipSIT).	At the end of the six weeks of treatment.
Secondary	Global Effect Perception Scale for Treatment	The participant's perception of treatment will be assessed by use of an 11-point Global Effect Perception Scale , where +5 correspond to perception of great improvement and -5 correspond to perception of great worsening.	At the end of the six weeks of treatment.