Knee bracing vs taping as an adjunct to rehabilitative exercise in patellofemoral pain syndrome management among basketball players: A prospective study

Abstract

Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is a common source of knee problems found mostly in physically active young adults. Causative factors are multifactorial, including lower extremity weakness, especially quadriceps muscles. Conservative treatment of PFPS consists mainly of knee bracing and knee taping combined with physical therapy. This study was aimed to analyse the outcome comparison between knee bracing and knee taping in combination with rehabilitative exercise for PFPS management. A prospective study was performed involving twenty-five basketball players suffering from PFPS, aged 19-30 years old with regular practice sessions. The subjects were each grouped randomly into a taping or a bracing group. Follow-up evaluations in term of Kujala patellofemoral score were done in the 1st, 2nd, and 4th weeks after treatment. Unpaired t-test and chi-square were used to analyse the difference between both groups in pre- and post-intervention. Baseline characteristics of each group did not differ significantly (p>0.05). Both groups had significantly higher functional scores after the 1st, 2nd, and 4th weeks of intervention (p<0.05). Significantly higher functional scores were found in the bracing group on the 2nd (p=0.013) and 4th weeks (p=0.002). No significant differences were found in functional scores between both groups in the 1st week (p=0.142). While both methods were efficacious, knee bracing is more effective compared to knee taping in improving functional outcomes as an adjunct to rehabilitative exercise in PFPS management.