New in the Literature: Patellofemoral Pain in Runners (Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2012 Dec 27. [Epub ahead of print])
Authors of
an article published
online in Medicine and Science in Sports
and Exercise say their finding of greater hip adduction in female runners
who develop patellofemoral pain (PFP) is in agreement with previous cross
sectional studies. These results suggest that runners who develop PFP use a
different proximal neuromuscular control strategy than those who remain healthy.
Injury prevention and treatment strategies should consider addressing these
altered hip mechanics, they add.
For this investigation, the authors conducted an instrumented
gait analysis on 400 healthy women runners and tracked them for any injuries that
they may have developed over a 2-year period. Fifteen cases of PFP developed,
which were confirmed by a medical professional. The participants' initial
running mechanics were compared with an equal number of runners who remained
uninjured.
According to the results, the runners who developed
PFP exhibited significantly greater hip adduction. No statistically significant
differences were found for the hip internal rotation angle or rearfoot eversion.
APTA
member Brian Noehren, PT, is the
article's lead author. APTA member Irene
Davis, PT, PhD, FAPTA, is coauthor.