The influence of iliotibial tract thickness on clinical outcomes in women with patellofemoral pain

Background: The assessment of iliotibial tract thickness by ultrasonography may help iden-tify a key, previously unexplored factor that may contribute directly to the homeostasis imbalance of the femoropatellar joint in people with patellofemoral pain (PFP). Objectives: To compare the iliotibial tract thickness of people with PFP and asymptomatic people; and to correlate the iliotibial tract thickness with self-reported pain and function of people with PFP. Methods: Eighty women, separated into two groups: PFP group (n = 40) and control group consisting of asymptomatic participants (CG; n = 40). The participants answered the Anterior Knee Pain Scale (AKPS) questionnaire, to identify the self-reported knee function; they evaluated the pain in millimeters by the Visual Analog Scale for pain (VAS). For the imaging evaluation, an ultrasound was used, with a linear transducer at the distal portion of the iliotibial tract (coronal plane), with the participants positioned in dorsal decubitus, with 20 degrees of knee flexion. The iliotibial band was visualized in its long axis, and three sequential images were recorded between the lateral femoral condyle and the lateral tibial condyle. The measurements were normalized and correlated.Results: The groups had no differences (P > 0.001) between participants for: age/weight/ height/IMC. Participants in the PFP group had moderate levels of pain (58 + 2.1 mm), con-siderable self-reported functional limitation (d = 3.05) and greater iliotibial tract thickness compared with the CG (d = 2.41).Conclusion: The iliotibial tract of women diagnosed with PFP have greater thickness com-pared with asymptomatic women. There was no association between iliotibial tract thick-ness and subjective measures of pain and function.(c) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study compared the iliotibial tract thickness between individuals with patellofemoral pain (PFP) and asymptomatic individuals, and analyzed the correlation between iliotibial tract thickness and self-reported pain and function. The study found that women with PFP had greater iliotibial tract thickness compared to asymptomatic women, but there was no association between iliotibial tract thickness and subjective measures of pain and function.