Effects of Total Resistance Exercise versus Physioball Exercise Training Programs on Pain and Functional Disability among Women with Patellofemoral Pain

patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is one of the most common knee injuries, which is caused by the abnormal position of patella. The present study was conducted to compare the effects of an eight-week training in both Total Resistance exercise (TRX) and physioball groups on the amount of pain and motor function of non-athletic women with patellofemoral pain syndrome.

In this semi-experimental study, 30 non-athletic women suffering from patellofemoral pain syndrome were randomly divided into two groups. The first group performed TRX exercises (15 people), and the second group performed physioball exercises (15 people). Both groups received 3 practice sessions per week for a period of 8 weeks. The visual analog scale (VAS), pain scale and Kujala Patellofemoral questionnaire (KPQ) were employed before and after the exercise to assess the pain and motor function. Paired T-test and independent t-test were used. The significance level was considered as P≤0.05.

The results revealed that there was no significant difference between functional disability (P=0.14) before and after the exercise protocol (pre- and post-test) in the physioball group. Meanwhile, there was a significant difference in pain (P=0.028). The results for the TRX group indicated that there was a significant difference in pain (P=0.001) and functional disability (P=0.001) between pre- and post-test exercises.

The findings of our study revealed that the eight weeks of the strength training program (TRX and physioball) might be beneficial in a conservative treatment plan for reducing the pain intensity and improving the functional disability for subjects with PFPS.