Influence of the Powers™ strap on pain and lower limb biomechanics in individuals with patellofemoral pain

Greuel, H; Herrington, LC; Liu, A; Jones, R

Abstract

Background: Abnormal biomechanics, especially hip internal rotation and adduction are known to be associated with patellofemoral pain (PFP). The PowersTM strap was designed to decrease hip internal rotation and to thereby stabilise the patellofemoral joint.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate whether the PowersTM strap influenced pain and lower limb biomechanics during running and squatting in individuals with PFP.

Methods: 24 individuals with PFP were recruited using advertisements that were placed at fitness centres. They were asked to perform a single leg squat task (SLS) and to run on an indoor track at their own selected speed during two conditions: with and without the PowersTM strap. Immediate pain was assessed with the numeric pain rating scale. Three-dimensional motion and ground reaction force data were collected with 10 Qualisys cameras and 3 AMTI force plates.

Results: Immediate pain was significantly reduced with the PowersTM strap (without the PowersTM strap: 4.04±1.91; with the PowersTM strap: 1.93±2.13). The PowersTM strap condition significantly increased hip external rotation by 4.7° during the stance phase in running and by 2.5° during the single leg squat task. Furthermore, the external knee adduction moment during the SLS and running increased significantly.

Conclusion: This study assessed the effect of the PowersTM strap on lower limbs kinematics and kinetics in individual with PFP. The results suggest that the PowersTM strap has the potential to improve abnormal hip motion. Furthermore, the PowersTM strap demonstrated an ability to significantly reduce pain during functional tasks in patients with PFP.

Citation

Greuel, H., Herrington, L., Liu, A., & Jones, R. (2019). Influence of the Powers™ strap on pain and lower limb biomechanics in individuals with patellofemoral pain. ˜The œKnee (Amsterdam. Online), 26(6), 1210-1219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.knee.2019.03.005

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 17, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Jun 4, 2019
• Publication Date: Dec 1, 2019
• Deposit Date: Apr 1, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 4, 2020
• Journal: The Knee
• Print ISSN: 0968-0160
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Volume: 26
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 1210-1219
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.knee.2019.03.005
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.knee.2019.03.005
• Related Public URLs: https://www.thekneejournal.com/