Abstract
Objective
To investigate the effect of a knee brace compared with minimal intervention on self-reported
kinesiophobia and function, objective function, and physical activity level in people
with patellofemoral pain (PFP).
Design
Single-blind randomized controlled trial (1:1), parallel.
Participants
Individuals with PFP (N=50).
Main Outcome Measures
Primary: kinesiophobia (Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia). Secondary: self-reported function
(Anterior Knee Pain Scale), physical activity level (International Physical Activity
Questionnaire), and objective function (forward step-down test). Outcomes were assessed
at baseline (T0), at the end of the intervention (2wk) (T1), and at 6 weeks after baseline (T2).
Intervention
Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 interventions groups: (1) use of knee
brace for 2 weeks during daily living, sports, or painful tasks (brace group) and
(2) educational leaflet with information about PFP (leaflet group).
Results
The knee brace reduced kinesiophobia in people with PFP compared with minimal intervention
with moderate effect size at T1=mean difference (95% CI) −5.56 (−9.18 to −1.93) and T2=−5.24 (−8.58 to −1.89). There was no significant difference in self-reported and
objective function and physical activity level.
Conclusions
The knee brace improved kinesiophobia immediately after intervention (at 2wk) and
at 6-week follow-up in people with PFP compared with minimal intervention. A knee
brace may be considered within clinically reasoned paradigms to facilitate exercise
therapy interventions for people with PFP.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
AKPS (Anterior Knee Pain Scale), PFP (patellofemoral pain), RCT (randomized clinical trial)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 09, 2019
Footnotes
Supported by Sao Paulo Research Foundation (scholarship, author L.P. [2017/02457-9]). The financial sponsor of the scholarship played no role in the design, execution, analysis, and interpretation of data or writing of the study.
Clinical Trial Registration No.: RBR-2DY25R.
Disclosures: none.
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine
