Table 2. Main aspects of the studies included.
| Authors (sample size: gender; age) | Characteristics of sample | Variables | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Herrington et al. (n=45: male; 18–35 years) | 6 wk: SJNWBE (n=15) vs MJWBE (n=15) vs any exercise (n=15) | KES, VAS, MKS | All patients improved knee pain, function, extension strength. |
| Syme et al. (n=69: gender and age not specified) | 8 wk: vastus medialis selective exercises (n=23) vs quad general exercises (n=23) vs any exercise (n=23) | MPQ, MFIQ, SF-36, PGI | Both intervention groups similarly reduced pain and improved knee function. |
| Dolak et al. (n=26: female; 16–35 years) | 4 wk: hip external rotators and abductors muscle exercises (n=17) vs quad exercises (n=16) | VAS, LEFS, HABD, HER, KES | Hip exercises resulted in pain relief and higher hip muscles strength after the first 4 weeks. At 8 weeks, both groups showedimprovemalet. |
| Fukuda et al. (n=64: gender not specified; 18–32 years) | 4 wk: knee muscles exercises (n=20) vs knee muscle + hip muscles exercises (n=21) vs any exercise (n=23) | NPRS, LEFS, AKPS, SLSHT | Both intervention groups showed similar improvemalets in pain and function. |
| Avraham et al. (n=30: gender not specified; 35 years average) | 3 wk: quad exercises + TENS (n=10) vs hip external rotators and abductors exercises + TENS (n=10) vs knee and hip exercises + TENS (n=10) | VAS, PFJES | Both intervention groups had pain and function improvemalets, but group 3 had significantly higher improvemalets. |
| Khamyambasi et al. (n=28: female; 29 years average) | 8 wk: hip muscles exercises (n=14) vs placebo treatmalet (n=14) | VAS, WOMAC, HS; at 8 wk and 6 months | Hip exercises resulted in less pain and higher health status in short and long terms. |
| Khamyambasi et al. (n=36: male and female; 28 years average) | 8 wk: hip posterolateral exercises (n=18) vs quadriceps exercises (n=18) | VAS, WOMAC; at 8 wk and 6 months | Hip exercises resulted in less pain and higher health status in short and long terms. |
| Nakagawa et al. (n=14: male and female; 17–40 years) | 6 wk: quadriceps exercises and hip external rotators and abductors exercises (n=14) vs quadriceps exercises (n=14) | VAS, EIKEPT, HAHLREPT, EMG of gluteal medialis | Hip+quad exercises resulted in less pain and an increase in electromyographic activity in the gluteal medialis. |
| Moyano et al. (n=74: gender not specified; 40.2 ± 3.29 years) | 16 wk: classic stretching (n=35) vs PNF stretching (n=33) vs educational intervention (n=26) | AKPS, VAS, Q-angle, thigh perimeter, knee ROM | PNF and aerobic exercise improved function, pain, and ROM after 16 weeks and had better results than classic stretching |
| Lee J et al. (n=34: male and female; 22.8 ± 3.4 years) | 8wk: elastic band exercises (n=11) vs sling exercises (n=13) vs control group (n=10) | Dynamic Q-angle, VAS, onset time VL, onset time VMO | Both intervention groups improved pain relief, Q-angle, and onset time. |
VAS: Visual Analogue Scale; SJNWBE: Single joint quadriceps exercise; MJWBE: multiple-joint quadriceps exercise; TENS: Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation; KES: Knee Extension Strength; KPS: Kujala Patellofemoral Score; ISM: Isometric Strength Measurement; FIQ: Functional Index Questionnaire; HAHLREPT: Hip Abductor and Hip Lateral Rotators Eccentric Peak Torque; EIKEPT: Eccentric Isokinetic Knee Extensor Peak Torque; WOMAC: Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index; HS: Health Status; PFJES: Patello-femoral Joint Evaluation Scale; NPRS: Numeric Pain Rating Scale; LEFS: Lower Extremity Function Scale; AKPS: Anterior Knee Pain Score; SLSHT: Single-limb Single Hop Test; HABD: hip abductors; HER: hip external rotators; MKS: Modified Kujala Questionnaire; MPQ: McGill Pain Questionnaire; MFIQ: Modified Functional Index Questionnaire; PGI: Patient Generated Index; SF-36: Short form-36 Health Survey; ROM: range of motion; VL: vastus lateralis; VMO: vastus medialis oblique; FPPA: frontal plane proyection angle of the knee; EMG: electromiography