Musculoskeletal Disorders Research Center and Rehabilitation Students Research Committee, Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Musculoskeletal Research Center, Department of Physiotherapy and School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2022 Apr;30:23-29. doi: 10.1016/j.jbmt.2022.02.005. Epub 2022 Feb 9.
One of the most common knee problems is patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS). It is of great importance to pay attention to the muscles of the hip area in people with PFPS, especially to the presence of trigger points within the gluteus medius (GM). Accordingly, using therapeutic interventions to eliminate trigger points is required. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of GM active trigger point dry needling (TrP-DN) on pain and physical function of non-athlete women with unilateral PFPS.
29 young non-athlete women aged between 17 and 40 years old with unilateral PFPS were randomly divided into two groups of experimental (n = 15) and control (n = 14) through the simple and convenience sampling method. Both groups received conventional physiotherapy twice a week up to 6 sessions. The experimental group also received GM active TrP-DN once a week for 3 sessions in addition to the conventional physiotherapy. Pain intensity and physical function of women with PFPS were measured in both groups in three stages of before, immediately after and one week after performing the treatment sessions.
The six-session physiotherapy treatment led to a significant reduction in pain intensity as well as an improvement in physical function in both groups (p < 0.001). In addition, the intergroup comparison showed a significant improvement in physical function of the experimental group after one week from the GM active TrP-DN, compared to the control group (p = 0.048).
The present study indicated that conventional physiotherapy with or without GM active TrP-DN can reduce pain and improve physical function in non-athlete women with unilateral PFPS. This study also revealed that conventional physiotherapy combined with dry needling can lead to further reduction in pain and a greater improvement in physical function of this group of patients.
最常见的膝关节问题之一是髌股关节疼痛综合征（PFPS）。在 PFPS 患者中，关注髋关节区域的肌肉，特别是臀中肌（GM）内触发点的存在，非常重要。因此，需要使用治疗干预来消除触发点。因此，本研究旨在评估 GM 主动触发点干针（TrP-DN）对非运动员单侧 PFPS 女性疼痛和身体功能的影响。
通过简单方便的抽样方法，将 29 名年龄在 17 至 40 岁之间的年轻非运动员单侧 PFPS 女性随机分为实验组（n=15）和对照组（n=14）。两组均每周接受两次常规物理治疗，共 6 次。实验组除常规物理治疗外，每周还接受 GM 主动 TrP-DN 一次，共 3 次。在治疗结束后 3 个阶段，分别测量两组女性的疼痛强度和 PFPS 身体功能。
6 次物理治疗可显著降低两组的疼痛强度，并改善身体功能（p<0.001）。此外，组间比较显示，与对照组相比，实验组在 GM 主动 TrP-DN 治疗后一周，身体功能明显改善（p=0.048）。
本研究表明，常规物理治疗加或不加 GM 主动 TrP-DN 均可减轻非运动员单侧 PFPS 女性的疼痛并改善身体功能。本研究还表明，常规物理治疗结合干针治疗可进一步减轻疼痛，改善该组患者的身体功能。
