Zamani Soheila, Abbaszadeh-Amirdehi Maryam, Talebi Ghadamali, Tavassoli Mehdi, Esmaeilnejadganji Seyed Mokhtar, Gholinia Hemmat
Department of Physiotherapy, School of Rehabilitation, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
Mobility Impairment Research Center, Health Research Institute, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, IR, Iran.
BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2025 Jul 24;26(1):700. doi: 10.1186/s12891-025-08951-y.
Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is among the most prevalent causes of knee pain in young adults. Emerging evidence suggests that musculoskeletal pain syndromes, including PFPS, may be associated with neurodynamic disorders. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of femoral nerve neurodynamic disorders in patients with PFPS and to examine the association between these disorders and various clinical and demographic variables, including age, sex, body mass index, pain intensity, history of low back pain, functional ability, and rectus femoris shortness.
In this cross-sectional study, one hundred patients with unilateral PFPS aged 18-44 years participated. The femoral slump test (FST) and the prone knee bending (PKB) test were employed to assess neurodynamic disorders of the femoral nerve. The associations between the results of neurodynamic tests and selected clinical and demographic variables were evaluated using logistic regression analysis.
The prevalence of femoral nerve neurodynamic disorder in PFPS patients based on FST and PKB was 25% and 36% respectively. No significant associations were observed between FST results and the demographic or clinical variables of PFPS patients. In contrast, PKB results demonstrated significant associations with functional ability (OR = 0.96; 95% CI = 0.93-0.99), rectus femoris shortness (OR = 2.9; 95% CI = 1.15-7.33), and pain intensity (OR = 2.04; 95% CI = 1.36-3.07).
More than one-quarter of PFPS patients exhibited increased mechanosensitivity of the femoral nerve, indicating a notable prevalence of neurodynamic disorders within this population. Nevertheless, the cross-sectional design and use of convenience sampling may limit the generalizability of these findings. These findings underscore the importance of incorporating neurodynamic assessments into the clinical evaluation of PFPS patients to facilitate more effective management.
髌股疼痛综合征（PFPS）是年轻成年人膝关节疼痛最常见的原因之一。新出现的证据表明，包括PFPS在内的肌肉骨骼疼痛综合征可能与神经动力学障碍有关。本研究的目的是调查PFPS患者股神经神经动力学障碍的患病率，并检查这些障碍与各种临床和人口统计学变量之间的关联，包括年龄、性别、体重指数、疼痛强度、腰痛病史、功能能力和股直肌短缩情况。
在这项横断面研究中，100例年龄在18 - 44岁的单侧PFPS患者参与其中。采用股神经牵拉试验（FST）和俯卧位屈膝试验（PKB）来评估股神经的神经动力学障碍。使用逻辑回归分析评估神经动力学测试结果与选定的临床和人口统计学变量之间的关联。
基于FST和PKB的PFPS患者股神经神经动力学障碍患病率分别为25%和36%。未观察到FST结果与PFPS患者的人口统计学或临床变量之间存在显著关联。相比之下，PKB结果与功能能力（OR = 0.96；95% CI = 0.93 - 0.99）、股直肌短缩（OR = 2.9；95% CI = 1.15 - 7.33）和疼痛强度（OR = 2.04；95% CI = 1.36 - 3.07）存在显著关联。
超过四分之一的PFPS患者表现出股神经机械敏感性增加，表明该人群中神经动力学障碍的患病率较高。然而，横断面设计和便利抽样的使用可能会限制这些发现的普遍性。这些发现强调了将神经动力学评估纳入PFPS患者临床评估以促进更有效管理的重要性。
