Previous | All articles | Next

Study confirms bracing more effective than taping to reduce Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome.

Patients suffering from patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) demonstrated improved coronal plane and torsional control of the knee during slow step descent following the application of bracing and taping and of the two, bracing had a greater effect than taping.

A recent clinical study of the biomechanics of step descent using different treatment modalities for patellofemoral pain was published in May by Prof Jim Richards and his team at UCLan, and has shown a significant reduction of coronal and torsional knee range of motion with DJO’s Trupull Advance compared to both taping and to no intervention.

The authors, James Selfe, Dominic Thewlis, Stephen Hill, Jonathan Whitaker, Chris Sutton and Jim Richards had already shown in a previous study that in healthy subjects significant changes in coronal and transverse plane mechanics can be produced by the application of a neutral patella taping technique and a patellar brace. Recently it has also been identified that patients with PFPS display alterations in gait in the coronal and transverse planes.

This new study investigated the effect of patellar bracing and taping on the three-dimensional mechanics of the knee of patellofemoral pain patients during a step descent task. The study was conducted on 13 patients who performed a slow step descent, under 3 randomized conditions: no intervention; neutral patella taping; patellofemoral bracing (Trupull Advance).

The patients served as their own control with the no intervention condition being the internal control. A 20 cm step was constructed to accommodate an AMTI force platform and Kinematic data was collected using a ten camera infra-red Oqus motion analysis system. (Reflective markers were placed on the foot, shank and thigh using the Calibrated Anatomical System Technique (CAST)).

The coronal plane knee range of motion was significantly reduced with taping (P = 0.031) and bracing (P = 0.005). There was also a significant reduction in the coronal plane range of motion with bracing compared to taping (P = 0.01). The transverse plane showed a significant reduction in the knee ROM with the brace compared to taping (P = 0.032) and no treatment (P = 0.046).

The team believe that possible explanations of the greater effect of bracing versus taping were:

The patients’ self-nominated order of preference for home use of the interventions was: brace (most likely to use), followed by tape, and lastly no intervention (least likely to use). Click here for more information.

 
Previous | All articles | Next