Brief summary, from the abstract
In runners with patellofemoral pain, three gait retraining techniques (forefoot landing, a 10% step-rate increase, and forward trunk lean) all reduced pain and improved knee function, but the clinical gains were not clearly explained by measurable changes in running biomechanics.
- Eighteen recreational runners were split across three groups: forefoot landing (FFOOT), a 10% step-rate increase (SR10%), and forward trunk lean (FTL).
- FFOOT and FTL raised Anterior Knee Pain Scale scores at post-training (P=.001 and P=.008) and at 6-month follow-up (P<.001 for both); SR10% improved AKPS from baseline to 6-month follow-up (P=.006).
- FFOOT showed greater gastrocnemius (P=.037) and rectus femoris (P=.006) pre-activation.
- The authors note the symptom and function improvements were not accompanied by significant biomechanical differences that would fully explain the clinical benefit; with only 18 runners across three groups, this is a small study.
Clinically assessing this area? See the knee special tests.