Research and News
Thera-Band exercise program helps reduce knee pain
Patellofemoral pain syndrome results in chronic anterior knee pain, and is often associated with delayed and reduced activation of the vastus medialis oblique (VMO) muscle. Therapeutic exercise is often prescribed to help improve the strength and onset timing of the VMO. Patellar taping is also used in managing anterior knee pain, and is often worn by the patient throughout the day.
Researchers in Turkey wanted to see if an exercise program for patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome could be effective with shorter tape application times (tape worn only during exercise sessions versus worn all day long). First, they compared the VMO muscle activation of 12 men with patellofemoral pain syndrome to 16 healthy controls. The patient group had significantly slower activation of the VMO compared to the control group, as well as significantly reduced strength and activation levels of the affected side compared to the unaffected side.
The 3 month home exercise program for patellofemoral pain syndrome used patellar taping only while exercises were performed, 3 times per day for 30 minutes per session. The progressive exercise program used Thera-Band® Exercise Bands and Stability Trainers. After the exercise program, the patellofemoral patients normalized their VMO activation timing and strength to symmetrical levels that were the same as the control group. This study is consistent with a recent systematic review which concluded that elastic resistance training can be effective at treating patellofemoral pain syndrome.
REFERENCE: Kaya D, et al. 2010. The effect of an exercise program in conjunction with short-period patellar taping on pain, electromyogram activity, and muscle strength in patellofemoral pain syndrome. Sports Health. 2(5):410-416.
Visit the Thera-Band Academy Anterior Knee Pain Resource Center Here
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| Print article | This entry was posted by Dr. Phil Page on July 3, 2011 at 2:38 am, and is filed under Research Updates, Stability Trainer, Thera-Band Elastic Resistance. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site. |

























































