Gluteal muscles function and "Runner's knee".

Gluteal muscle activity and patellofemoral pain syndrome: a systematic review. 
Barton, C., Lack, S., Malliaras, P. and Morrissey, D. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2013; 47: 207 – 214. 
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22945929

Patellofemoral pain syndrome, often called “runner’s knee”, constitutes great amount of the knee overuse injuries observed in the sports medicine practice. While aetiology of the condition is not fully known, variety of intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors has been presented. Much attention has been placed on the relationship between hip musculature function and PFPS. It is suggested that impaired gluteal muscle function may result in increased hip joint adduction and internal rotation movement during activities such as running, squatting and stair negotiation. This excessive hip motion is proposed to increase lateral PFJ stress, associated with PFPS development. Nevertheless, research findings are somehow inconsistent. To fill that gap, authors decided to put together a systematic review investigating the role of gluteal muscle activity in the aetiology, presentation and management of PFPS.
Ten case–control, but no prospective studies were included for final review. All 10 studies evaluated EMG activity of gluteus medium, while 2 studies evaluated gluteus maximus. The majority of studies contained low participant numbers, averaging just 16 PFPS and 18 control participants. According to the results, there is currently moderate to strong evidence that GMed muscle activity is delayed and of shorter duration during stair ascent and descent in individuals with PFPS. In addition, limited evidence indicates that GMed muscle activity is delayed and of shorter duration during running. The findings might therefore be in agreement with the theory that, if gluteal muscle activation is delayed, frontal and transverse plane hip motion control may be impaired, leading to increased stress on the PFJ and subsequent symptoms associated with PFPS. Nonetheless, it still can not be determined from the results, whether this delayed and of shorter duration GMed muscle activity was the cause or the effect of PFPS. Authors recommend implementation of specific interventions (biofeedback, GMed strengthening, gait retraining) targeting these deficits in patients suffering from PFPS. 
Do you profile your PFPS patients in regards to gluteal muscle function? Are you observation in agreement with this review? 
All rights reserved to the British Journal of Sports Medicine.



No comments:

Post a Comment