The Effect of Patellar Taping on Knee Joint Position Sense in Healthy and Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome Futsalist Women

Lower extremity joint position sense (JPS) plays a significant role in the prevention of acute and chronic injuries and degenerative joint disease. It seems that subjects with patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) have some impairments in knee JPS. The aim of this study was to evaluate the patellar taping effect on knee JPS in futsalist women suffering from PFPS. This study was conducted using a semi-experimental method and 30 female elite athletes (mean age=22 ± 2.37, year) participated in this research half of whom had PFPS. Electro goniometer instrument was used for the measurement of JPS. Absolute error of active angular reconstruction was calculated for 30 ◦ and 60 ◦. Finally, the data were analyzed with dependent paired t-test, based on the classification of participation into two groups, with and without PFPS and once based on having good (deviation from target angle ≥ 5 ◦, number=21) and poor (deviation from target angle < 5 ◦, number=9) JPS. The results showed that patellar taping cause JPS improvement in 30 ◦ for bo th groups with and without PFPS. However, according to the classification (participants in the two groups with poor and good JPS), the results showed that taping improved JPS in poor group (p=0.01), but taping in good group decreased JPS (0.04). Patellar taping can relatively develop knee JPS in futsalist women regardless of having PFPS; also in cases with poor JPS, it may be helpful and could improve knee JPS.