Supervised Rehabilitation Versus Telerehabilitation In Female Patients With Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome

초록

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the muscle strengths of the quadriceps, hamstring, and hip muscles, muscle activation time of quadriceps and hamstring muscles, and patient-reported outcomes between supervised rehabilitation and telerehabilitation in female patients with PFPS. METHODS: A prospective comparative study was conducted with 61 patients (supervised rehabilitation group, n = 30; telerehabilitation group, n = 31). Both groups underwent the same exercise program for 6 weeks, but the supervised rehabilitation group physically attended the therapy sessions three times a week while the telerehabilitation group was educated with the exercise program and followed-up virtually three times a week. Using an isokinetic device, the muscle strength and activation time (AT) of the quadriceps and hamstrings were measured. A hand-held dynamometer was used to evaluate the hip muscle strength. Patient-reported outcomes including the visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, Kujala anterior knee pain scale (AKPS) for functional ability, and Tampa scale for kinesiophobia (TSK-11) were collected. RESULTS: While both groups demonstrated statistically significant improvements in all parameters (p-values <0.01) after 6 weeks of exercise program, no significant differences were observed in muscle strength (hamstring, p-value = 0.251; quadriceps p-value = 0.200); hip, p-value = 0.700), muscle AT (hamstring, p-value = 0.231; quadriceps, p-value = 0.122), and patient-reported outcomes (VAS, p-value = 0.547; AKPS, p-value = 0.304; TSK-11, p-value = 0.638) between the supervised and telerehabilitation groups. CONCLUSION: Telerehabilitation, such as a home-exercise program guided by physical therapists, may be as effective as supervised rehabilitation in improving functional outcomes in female patients with PFPS.