Effects of whole-body vibration plus hip-knee muscle strengthening training on adult patellofemoral pain syndrome: a randomized controlled trial.

Abstract

To investigate whether whole-body vibration (WBV) plus hip-knee muscle strengthening is more efficient in relieving pain and improving function than hip-knee strengthening alone. Thirty-six participants with patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) were recruited and randomly allocated to either the (1) hip-knee strengthening only (HK group, <i>n</i> = 18) or (2) WBV plus hip-knee strengthening group (WHK group, <i>n</i> = 18). All participants attended 18 physiotherapy sessions (3 sessions/week, 40 min/session) over 6 weeks. Data on symptoms, function, surface electromyography (sEMG) signals from the vastus medialis and gluteus medius, and quality of life were evaluated at baseline (T₀), 6 weeks after (T₆), and the 12-week follow-up (T₁₈). Significant group × time interactions were found for the VAS score (<i>p</i> < 0.001) and vastus medialis performance (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.015). The WHK group exhibited a greater pain relief than did the HK group at T₁₈ (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.014). The WHK group exhibited significantly larger improvements in the RMS value than did the HK group at T₆ (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.011). The present study shows that 6 weeks of WBV plus hip-knee strengthening can improve vastus medialis performance and maintain long-term pain relief to a significantly greater extent than can hip-knee strengthening alone.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONThe present study shows that 6 weeks of WBV plus hip-knee strengthening can improve vastus medialis performance and maintain long-term pain relief to a significantly greater extent than can hip-knee strengthening alone.