Introduction: Patellofemoral pain syndrome is pain around or behind patella. It is a result of imbalances in the forces controlling patellar tracking. The malalignment of lower limbs and the knee should be examined in clinical evaluation and established if any muscular dysfunctions are presented. Treatment is primarily conservative. It includes exercise, application of tapes, orthosis and patellar brace, combination therapy, acupuncture and patient education. Treatment should be individualized for each patient. Purpose: To determine and compare effects of different physiotherapeutic techniques for treating patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome. Methods: A literature review of randomized controlled trials was conducted in electronic database PubMed. Results: Seven studies were included in the analysis. Supervised exercise therapy is, compared with usual care, more effective for pain relief and improving function. It does not however improve self-reported recovery. Adding stability exercises to knee exercise program has positive effect on pain, strength, function and posture control for women with patellofemoral pain. Adding hip strengthening exercises to closed kinetic chain exercise program improves pain and function, but does not improve hip muscle strength, compared to exercise program alone. Hip and knee exercise protocols both results in less pain and better function, without significant differences between programs. Using foot orthosis is not more effective then physiotherapy, but is superior to flat inserts in global improvement. Patellar brace leads to less pain during stair climbing and sports activities in comparison to exercise program alone after 6 and 12 weeks. Adding application of kinesiology tapes to strengthening exercises, contributes to faster release in hamstring tightness. Discussion and conclusion: Results show effectiveness of exercise program for improving pain and function. Stabilization exercises and isolated strengthening of hip muscles lead to even greater improvements. Compared to exercise program, foot orthosis does not improve symptoms, patellar brace relieves more pain during activities and kinesiology tape leads to faster improvements in flexibility.
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