Introduction: Patellofemoral pain syndrome is one of the most common conditions in orthopaedic and sports medicine. Disproportionate forces generated during contraction of disfunctional muscles lead to patella maltracking. Abnormal biomechanics, which results in overloading of patellofemoral joint structures, triggers typical retropatellar or peripatellar pain and stiffnes of the knee joint. Symptoms escalate during activities such as cycling, running, jumping, prolonged sitting, kneeling and stair climbing. Females and physically active population, ecpecially runners, are more likely to develop patellofemoral pain syndrome. Conservative treatment is a treatment of choice and includes strengthening of hip and knee musculature, neuromuscular training, soft tissue stretching, taping, prescribing orthoses and bracing. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to present the advantages of adding hip exercise programme to conventional knee - preferentally quadriceps femoris exercise programme in patients with patellofemoral pain, based on review of professional and scientific literature. Methods: Literature was gathered using Pubmed, MEDLine and PEDro. Full access articles in English, systematic reviews, clinical randomized trials published after 2004 which studied the effects of knee strengthening programme alone or in combination with hip strengthening programme in patients with PFPS were used. Results: Based on our criteria, seven studies published between 2009 and 2016, were included in the analysis. Outcomes show that adding hip musculature strengthening to knee musculature strengthening programme gives better results than knee strengthening alone. Strengthening of proximal musculature, as a part of therapeutic exercise, is more effective in lowering the rate of pain and improving knee function. Discussion and conclusion: Despite positive results of adding hip muscle strengthening to knee exercise programme, more research is needed, especially studies with better methodology that would discuss different aspects of abductors and lateral rotators strengthening. Clinicians should address more concern to the effects of closed and open kinetic chain exercises, importance of concentric and eccentric contraction, defining optimal loading, exercise dosage and specifying progression.
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