nterior knee pain or patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is one of the most common disorders affecting the lower extremities. It frequently occurs among the physically active population, and its incidence is higher among women. Despite the high prevalence, the etiology of this painful syndrome and most effective approach to the treatment are still unclear. 5,23,29 A commonly accepted hypothesis for the etiology of PFPS is based on excessive patellofemoral joint pressure secondary to poor patellar tracking. 13,33 Accordingly, many clinical interventions have focused directly on the patella, with the goal of trying to correct the patellar alignment and motion. These interventions with intended direct effect on patella alignment included quadriceps strengthening, especially the oblique fibers of the vastus medialis muscle, hamstring and iliotibial band stretching, patellar mobilization, and patellar tapt study design: Randomized clinical trial.t oBjective: To investigate the influence of strengthening the hip abductor and lateral rotator musculature on pain and function of females with patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS).t Background: Hip muscle weakness in women athletes has been the focus of many recent studies and is suggested as an important impairment to address in the conservative treatment of women with PFPS. However, it is still not well established if strengthening these muscles is associated with clinical improvement in pain and function in sedentary females with PFPS.t Methods: Seventy females (average  SD age, 25  07 years), with a diagnosis of unilateral PFPS, were distributed randomly into 3 groups: 22 females in the knee exercise group, who received a conventional treatment that emphasized stretching and strengthening of the knee musculature; 23 females in the knee and hip exercise group, who performed exercises to strengthen the hip abductors and external rotators in addition to the same exercises performed by those in the knee exercise group; and of the 25 females who did not receive any treatment. The females of the nontreatment group (control) were instructed to maintain their normal daily activities. An 11-point numerical pain rating scale (NPRS) was used to assess pain during stair ascent and descent. The lower extremity functional scale (LEFS) and the anterior knee pain scale (AKPS) were used to assess function. The single-limb single hop test was also used as a functional outcome to measure preintervention and 4-week postintervention function.t results: The 3 groups were homogeneous prior to treatment in respect to demographic, pain, and functional scales data. Both the knee exercise and the knee and hip exercise groups showed significant improvement in the LEFS, the AKPS, and the NPRS, when compared to the control group (P.05 and P.001, respectively). But, when we considered minimal clinically important differences, only the knee and hip exercise group demonstrated mean improvements in AKPS and pain scores that were large enough to be clinically meaningful. For the single-limb single hop...

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BackgroundAlthough recent advances in knee osteoarthritis (OA) treatment and evaluation were achieved, to the best of our knowledge, few studies have evaluated the longitudinal effect of therapeutic modalities on the functional exercise capacity of patients with knee OA. The purpose was to investigate the effects of kinesiotherapy and electrotherapy on functional exercise capacity, evaluated using the six-minute walk test (6-MWT) in patients with bilateral knee OA. Secondary measurements included range of motion (ROM), severity of knee pain (VAS), and a measure of perceived health and physical function, evaluated using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) Osteoarthritis Index.MethodsA total of 40 women with bilateral knee OA were assigned to three groups: kinesiotherapy (KIN, n = 16), transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS, n = 12), or ultrasound (US, n = 10). The groups underwent 12 weeks of intervention twice per week. The participants were subjected to the 6-MWT, ROM, VAS and WOMAC index. These tests were performed before and after the intervention. The study was focused on outpatients and was carried out at Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Brazil.ResultsAt follow-up, the KIN and US groups had significantly higher 6-MWT distances (19.8 ± 21.7 and 14.1 ± 22.5%, respectively) compared with their respective pre-intervention values. All treatments were effective for reducing pain and improving the WOMAC index.ConclusionsWe demonstrated that the 6-MWT is a tool that can be used to evaluate improvements in the functional exercise capacity of patients submitted to a clinical intervention.