Prevalence of Anterior Knee Pain in Marathon Runners Mistry S Devashree1, Chilgar Leena2,*, Kumar Ajay3 1Intern, DPO'S NETT College of Physiotherapy., Thane (W) 2Asst. Professor, DPO'S NETT College of Physiotherapy., Thane (W) 3Principal, DPO'S NETT College of Physiotherapy., Thane (W) *Corresponding author: Dr. Leena Chilgar (PT) (Asst. Professor, DPO'S NETT College of Physiotherapy., Thane (W)
Online published on 16 January, 2018. Abstract Background/purpose Anterior knee pain (AKP) is a pain arising from the patellofemoral joint itself specifically called Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS), it is a common problem among runners.5 Therefore, the name implies, runner's knee. Running was, and continues to be, the sport of choice for many, because of its convenience, health benefits & economical nature.5 Over the last 10–15 years, there has been a dramatic increase in popularity of running marathons.4 However, the potential for running injuries has increased. Many believe that running injuries result from a combination of extrinsic factors (training errors, old shoes, running surface) & intrinsic factors (poor flexibility, malalignment, previous injury, running experience).5 Thus the most affected joint is the knee joint & the most common overuse injury is the Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS).5 Medical diagnosis of AKP has historically included many different conditions. Perhaps a functional diagnosis as offered by the AKPQ would be better than a medical diagnosis when treating patients with AKP.1 Therefore, outcome tools such as the AKPQ, reported validity (v=0.92) & reliability (r=0.92) 1, 2 may be better suited to document symptoms & chart progress in patients during their rehabilitation.1 The purpose of this study is, to estimate the prevalence of Anterior Knee Pain (AKP) in Marathon runners. And other objectives were, to review the most affected component of the questionnaire and to estimate age wise prevalence of Anterior Knee Pain (AKP). Method Total 100, male (n=48) and female (n=52) Marathon runners within the age group of 15–30 years old participated in this study, they were surveyed for Anterior Knee Pain & functional disability using Anterior Knee Pain Questionnaire (AKPS) called Kujala scale. After that a total score was calculated of each subject. A cut-off of 83 on the Kujala scale was chosen to identify those individuals with Anterior Knee Pain (AKP).1 Result 68% in the given population were positive for AKPQ and 32% were negative. Most affected component of the questionnaire was Pain on Prolonged Sitting affecting 51%. 46% had painful walking for > 2 km. 29% had pain on running for > 2 km, 22% had severe pain & 14% were unable to run. And the least affected component were Atrophy of Thigh muscles & Flexion Deformity where 82% had no flexion deformity. In addition, injuries occurred with a higher frequency in age group of 23 to 25 years with (mean age=23 years old). Conclusion There is 68% Prevalence of Anterior Knee Pain (AKP) in Marathon runners in the age group of 15 to 30 years. Top Keywords anterior knee pain, marathon runners, anterior knee pain questionnaire, kujala scale, prevalence. Top |