Physical activity levels in individuals with and without patellofemoral pain

Abstract

Objectives: Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is a chronic condition that results in long-term subjective and objective impairments. PFP has been identified to result in modification in activity levels, however it is unknown the extent of activity levels in individuals with and without PFP.

Design: Case-control study.

Participants: 20 individuals with PFP and 20 healthy individuals.

Main outcome measures: Physical activity was assessed by steps per day, minutes of mild, moderate, and high activity over 14 consecutive days. Anterior Knee Pain Scale (AKPS), worst pain in last week (WVAS), and Fear Avoidance Belief Questionnaire (FABQ) were also collected. Paired t-tests were used to compare variables between groups. Pearson r correlations were conducted to evaluate relationships between subjective function and activity level.

Results: Individuals with PFP took less steps per day (p = 0.004) and completed less daily minutes of mild activity (p = 0.007) and high activity (p = 0.012). Significant correlations were seen between steps per day and subjective function: AKPS (p = 0.002), WVAS (p = 0.016), and FABQ (p = 0.002) in the PFP population.

Conclusion: Individuals with PFP are less physically active than their healthy counterparts in both steps per day and minutes spent conducting physical activity. A relationship between subjective function and physical activity exists in individuals with PFP.

Keywords: Anterior knee pain; Fear avoidance; Pain.