title: Analysis of outcome measures used in the study of patellofemoral pain syndrome.
abstract: Validation of evaluation methods is necessary in order to appropriately monitor Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS) patients and to determine the effectiveness of treatment and prevention programs. The goal of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of five evaluation methods: a functional index questionnaire (FIQ), visual analogue scales (VAS) for pain, a patellofemoral function scale (PFS), a step test and a subjective report of functional limitations. Measurements for each of the six components were taken on 56 PFPS patients participating in a randomized clinical trial, prior to and at one month following treatment. Modest test-retest reliability for the FIQ, VAS and step test were found. High internal consistency for the FIQ and modest internal consistency for the PFS were demonstrated. The VAS and FIQ were found to be good discriminators for measuring clinical change, while the step test was found to be reliable but poor at detecting clinical change. The PFS, which combines a number of evaluation areas into an index, demonstrated potential to detect clinical change, however, conclusions are limited as reliability testing was not performed.
authors.affiliation: School of Physical Therapy, University of Saskatchewan, Canada.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Quinney
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Magee
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Sheppard
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: McQuarrie
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D002170:Canada; D005260:Female; D005269:Femur / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007899:Leisure Activities; D008297:Male; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010146:Pain / Q000517:prevention & control; D059408:Pain Management; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D013577:Syndrome