A Pilot Study

Study Design: Cross-sectional. Background: Although decreased hip abduction and lateral rotation strength has been found in females with patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS), few studies have included males. Aim: To determine if hip abduction and lateral rotation strength is decreased in males with PFPS. Methods: Eight males participated. Isometric hip abduction and external rotation strength was measured with a hand-held dynamometer. Four subjects had unilateral patellofemoral pain (mean age = 26.5 ± 7.5 years) and 4 asymptomatic subjects were controls (mean age = 23 ± 6.4 years). The recorded measurements from the symptomatic legs were compared with the asymptomatic legs, and also with the controls. Results: No significant differences in hip abduction or lateral rotation strength were found between the symptomatic and asymptomatic legs of male subjects with PFPS. The PFPS subjects did not have generally weaker hip strength compared with the asymptomatic controls. Conclusion: Males with PFPS do not appear to have decreased hip abduction and lateral rotation strength. However, the sample size was too small for conclusions to be drawn. This study can be used as a preliminary step in gathering evidence about factors affecting PFPS in males, which may in turn shed light on appropriate clinical treatments