USE OF FEEDBACK VERSUS EXERCISE ALONE FOR TREATMENT OF THE PATIENTS WITH PATELLOFEMORAL PAIN: A NARRATIVE REVIEW

Patellofemoral pain (PfP) is a prevalent disorder and a rehabilitation program to manage or treat it is important. The effectiveness of feedback methods in combination with exercise may be more useful in the treatment or management of PfP compared to exercise alone.

Search with related keywords was done in all years and in PEDRO, PubMed, Google Scholar, Noormags, Magiran, and sid databases. Studies that investigated the effect of feedback types on pain, alignment of the lower limb, and activation of the vastus medialis muscle in people with PfP were included in the study. The PEDro scale was used to evaluate the quality of selected articles.

51 peer-reviewed articles were studied, and from them seven studies with inclusion criteria (score higher than 5 on the Pedro scale) were selected for review. There were some differences in the studies included the types of feedback, the main index being evaluated, the number of samples, the method of implementation, the method of evaluating the variables, etc. In people with PfP, performing exercise therapy along with feedback has significantly improved the variables of pain, lower limb alignment, and Vastus medialis (VMO) muscle activity as compared to exercise therapy without feedback.

These findings show that feedback is a beneficial addition to a rehabilitation program for the patients with PfP. Such a program will aid in preventing further injuries and maintaining proper function along with strength. Also, these results are consistent in the people with dynamic knee valgus condition.