Home based exercise may improve knee pain and muscle strength in patients with Patellofemoral pain

Patellofemoral pain (PFP) syndrome commonly known as "runner's knee" or "jumper's knee" because it is common in people who participate in sports particularly females and young adults. Home-based exercise is an effective intervention to achieve self-management for chronic diseases.

A new study in BMC Musculoskeletal disorders evaluated the effects of home-based exercise and health education in patients with PFP. In this randomized controlled trial of patients with patellofemoral pain (PFP). home-based exercise and health education resulted in less pain, better function, and higher knee muscle strength compared with no exercise in patients with PFP.

Researchers evaluated patients who had PFP were randomly allocated to an intervention group (IG) or control group (CG). Patients in the IG received a 6-week tailored home-based exercise program with health education via remote support, while patients in the CG group only received health education. Clinical outcomes were compared using the Anterior Knee Pain Scale (AKPS) to measure function and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) to measure "worst pain" and "pain with daily activity". Muscle strength was measured according to the peak torque of the knee muscles using an isokinetic system.

The key findings of the study are

• A total of 112 participants screened for eligibility, 38 were randomized and analyzed, including 19 participants in the intervention group and 19 participants in the control group.

• There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics between the groups. At 6-week follow-up, the intervention group showed a greater worst pain reduction (between-group difference, -19.3 [95%CI, -23.2 to -15.5]; P < 0.01) and pain with daily activity (between-group difference, -22.9 [95%CI, -28.3 to -17.4]; P < 0.01) than the control group.

• Similarly, the intervention group had better improvements in AKPS (between-group difference, 9.0 [95%CI, 4.1 to 13.9]; P < 0.01) and knee extensor strength (between-group difference, 20.1 [95%CI, 14.5 to 25.8]; P < 0.01), compared to the control group. No adverse events were reported.

Home-based exercise and health education resulted in less pain, better function, and higher knee muscle strength compared with no exercise in patients with PFP. A large randomized controlled trial with long-term follow-up is required to confirm these findings, they concluded.

Reference: Hong QM, Wang HN, Liu XH, Zhou WQ, Zhang X, Luo XB. Home-based exercise program and Health education in patients with patellofemoral pain: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2023 Nov 18;24(1):896. doi: 10.1186/s12891-023-07027-z.