The Relationship of Quadriceps Angle and Anterior Knee Pain (original) (raw)

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL AND DIAGNOSTIC RESEARCH

Anterior Knee Pain (AKP) or Patella Femoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS) is defined by mild aching pain localised around peripatellar area which aggravate by physical activities like climbing stairs, squatting, jumping, running and/or by sitting with the knees flexed for prolonged periods of time [1]. It accounts for 25% of all knee pain encountered in sports medicine clinics [1]. It is commonest diagnoses among young, physically active populations, affects 25% athletes, with >70% of them between age of 16 and 25-year-old. This respond well to physiotherapy but has high incidence of relapse in two-thirds which leads to activity modification and long medical treatment [2]. The main anatomical structures responsible for AKP are subchondral bone, synovium, retinaculum, skin, muscle/tendon, and nerve. These structures may be affected by many factors, including systemic disease, but in orthopaedic, the most common reasons for AKP are patellofemoral malalignment, overuse and trauma [3]. A common tool used to assess such patellar malalignment is the Q-angle [4]. Various studies suggest that there is a significant association between AKP and Q-angle [5-9]. Most of the studies done are from western population who have body morphology and physical activities different from Southeast Asian population, and hence its validity in present population is largely unknown. So in this prospective comparative study, authors have tried to find the relationship between AKP and Q-angle and the normal range of Q-angle in Nepalese population.