Effectiveness of Manual Therapy Combined With Physical Therapy in Treatment of Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome: Systematic Review

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to conduct a review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to determine the treatment effectiveness of the combination of manual therapy (MT) with other physical therapy techniques.

Methods: Systematic searches of scientific literature were undertaken on PubMed and the Cochrane Library (2004-2014). The following terms were used: "patellofemoral pain syndrome," "physical therapy," "manual therapy," and "manipulation." RCTs that studied adults diagnosed with patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) treated by MT and physical therapy approaches were included. The quality of the studies was assessed by the Jadad Scale.

Results: Five RCTs with an acceptable methodological quality (Jadad ≥ 3) were selected. The studies indicated that MT combined with physical therapy has some effect on reducing pain and improving function in PFPS, especially when applied on the full kinetic chain and when strengthening hip and knee muscles.

Conclusions: The different combinations of MT and physical therapy programs analyzed in this review suggest that giving more emphasis to proximal stabilization and full kinetic chain treatments in PFPS will help better alleviation of symptoms.

Keywords: Manipulation; Manual Therapy; Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome; Physical Therapy.

Figures

Fig 1

Flow diagram of study selection procedure.