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Excerpt
Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is a common complaint in physically active individuals. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effect of different patella taping procedures on electromyographic (EMG) activity of the Vastus Medialis Oblique (VMO) and Vastus Lateralis (VL) muscles. Thirty female volunteers, half diagnosed with unilateral PFPS, performed two repetitions of a maximal isokinetic leg press at 30 °/s. The EMG signal was recorded for a period of 5 seconds at a frequency of 500 Hz using surface electrodes. An electronic goniometer was used to measure the knee flexion angle. Average EMG was obtained by rectifying and smoothing the raw waveform using an electronic contour follower integrator. Several physical characteristics of the two groups were compared. The only significant difference between healthy and PFPS groups was hamstrings flexibility. Healthy participants had more flexible hamstrings than the PFPS group (p<.05). The results showed that when tape was applied to the PFPS knees the VMO activity and VMO:VL EMG ratio increased (p<.05), and the VL activity generally decreased. In contrast when tape was applied on the healthy knees the VMO activity and VMO:VL EMG ratio decreased and the VL activity increased(p<.05). The medial and lateral glide taping had similar effects. Both groups produced similar forces and patellar taping did not have a significant effect on force production (p>.1). Perceived knee pain for the PFPS participants was significantly reduced when tape was applied (p<.05). The PFPS group produced a higher normalized VMO:VL EMG ratio when compared with the healthy group. Both groups had ratios above 1.
