ARTICLE - EXERCISE THERAPY BEST FOR KNEE PAIN

Patellofemoral pain syndrome, chrondromalacia patellae, or as it is commonly known, Runner's knee is a knee condition characterised by severe pain in the front of the knee, both during and after exercise.  It is a common condition in young adults especially those that practice sports that place high demands on the knees such as soccer, tennis, cycling, running, rowing and volleyball. 

For many of these patients the standard treatment was simply "wait and see", rest up when the pain flares and avoid those activities that provoke pain in the knee. 

Now a new study from the Netherlands shows that supervised exercise therapy can be a more effective solution than usual care in reducing pain and improving knee function.  The study analysed the results of 131 subjects, half of whom participated in a supervised exercise program while the other half received usual care.  All participants were given written information and instructions on the syndrome and exercises to undergo at home, along with advice about refraining from activities that induce pain.

The subjects were asked to rate their recovery (i.e. the level of pain in their knees at rest and while during activities, and their knees' function level) at the beginning of the study, three months later and a year later.

The group that underwent the supervised exercise program reported significantly better function and less pain after three months than the group that received usual care.  A year later, both groups reported the same level of function but the former reported less pain at rest and during activities.

Although the exercise group recorded a greater percentage of recovery than the control group (42% vs 35% after 3 months and 62% vs 51% after 12 months), the results were not significantly different between the two groups.

The conclusions of the study indicate that supervised exercise therapy is a more effective solution in dealing with patellofemoral pain syndrome than the usual care in terms of reducing pain at rest and pain during activity.  However, there did not seem to be any measurable differences in perceived recovery.

The researchers conclude that more studies need to be carried out in order to better understand how exercise therapy helps improve the process of recovering from severe knee pain.