The Role of the Ultrasonographic Knee Assessment in the Diagnosis of Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome : Ultrasonography and Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome

Shila Haghighat; Mehdi Karami; Nasim Ghasemi; Babak Vahdatpour; Samira Soleimany

doi:10.31661/gmj.v11i.2420

The Role of the Ultrasonographic Knee Assessment in the Diagnosis of Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome : Ultrasonography and Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome

Galen Med J. 2022 Dec 25:11:e2420. doi: 10.31661/gmj.v11i.2420. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Shila Haghighat¹, Mehdi Karami², Nasim Ghasemi¹, Babak Vahdatpour¹, Samira Soleimany²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
² Department of Imaging and Radiology, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.

Abstract

Background: Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS) is a common anterior knee compartment pain etiology. It has been aimed to assess the ultrasonographic findings of the patellofemoral joint in patients with PFPS versus healthy individuals.

Materials and methods: The current case-control investigation was performed on 30 cases suffering from patellofemoral joint pain and 30 healthy individuals in Isfahan during 2020-21. All cases underwent ultrasonography to assess cartilage thickness, sulcus angle, and sulcus depth. We also measured the Q angle with a manual goniometer.

Results: In healthy individuals, Q angle scores were statistically lower than in the cases group (P=0.002). The sulcus angle was remarkably higher among the patients compared to the controls. The cartilage thickness (P=0.88) and sulcus depth (P=0.543) scores had no statistical difference between the PFPS and healthy subjects (P0.05).

Conclusion: Patients with PFPS had significantly higher Q angle and lower sulcus angle than the healthy controls.

Keywords: Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome; Q Angle; Sulcus; Ultrasonography.