Different pain responses to distinct levels of physical activity in women with patellofemoral pain.
Ronaldo V Briani, Marcella F Pazzinatto, Danilo De Oliveira Silva and 1 others
PMID 28460712WHAT IT FOUND
Women with patellofemoral pain who did intense physical activity reported more pain than those doing moderate activity.
A loaded stair-climbing protocol raised pain and made it similar between the pain groups, while unloaded stairs did not.
Key findings
01Women with PFP and intense activity reported more previous-month pain than women with PFP and moderate activity.
02The loaded stair-climbing protocol raised pain in both PFP groups and left post-protocol pain similar between moderate and intense activity groups.
03Previous-month pain was better predicted by intense physical activity than by moderate physical activity.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study included only women, so results do not apply to men or adolescents with patellofemoral pain. No inactive women with PFP were studied, so the findings do not show what happens in people with low activity levels. The order of the stair protocols was not randomised, which can affect the measured pain response. The study did not assess long-term symptom change after the loaded stair protocol.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The supplied text gives no funding details.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that loaded stair climbing treats patellofemoral pain. It was used to provoke and equalize pain during testing, and the study did not report symptom improvement over time.