Abstract

Introduction: anterior knee pain is a common symptom among sports people. There are multiple causes including muscle imbalance which could cause altered tracking or increased stress in the patellofemoral joint. In clinical setting, diacutaneous fibrolysis provide good outcomes in the treatment of such patients. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of this technique in patellofemoral distance and perceived pain during knee flexion, in sports population suffering anterior knee pain. Material and method: an experimental non controlled and non randomized study of sports population with anterior knee pain related with sports activity. One session of diacutaneous fibrolysis was carried out and the patellofemoral distance through ultrasound scanning and intensity of pain (VAS) during unilateral squatting in 90º of knee flexion was evaluated, before and after the session. Results: the mean age of the participants was 25.6 years (SD 6.36), 4 women and 6 men. Pain intensity (VAS) was reduced from 2,.90 to 0.93 (p < 0.01). Patellofemoral distance increased significantly in the three measure locations: in the trochlear notch from 0.42 to 0.50 cm (p < 0.03), in the lateral trochlea from 0.22 to 0.31 cm (p < 0.02) and in the medial trochlea from 0.18 to 0.28 cm (p < 0.02). Discussion and conclusion: in the sample, one session of diacutaneous fibrolysis could reduce pain intensity and could increase patellofemoral distance, which could imply a reduction in cartilage stress probably by a mechanism which is similar to that of muscles stretching techniques. The observed immediate effect suggests the use of diacutaneous fibrolysis as adjuvant in the conservative treatment of these patients.