Acute Effects of Hip Mobilization With Movement Technique on Pain and Biomechanics in Females With Patellofemoral Pain: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Context: People with patellofemoral pain (PFP) present altered lower-limb movements during some activities. Perhaps, joint misalignment in the hip is one of the reasons for altered movement patterns in people with PFP. Some mobilization techniques have been designed to address joint misalignments. Objective: To investigate the acute effects of hip mobilization with movement (MWM) technique on pain and biomechanics during squats and jumps in females with and without PFP. Design: Randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Setting: Movement analysis laboratory. Patients: Fifty-six physically active females (28 with PFP and 28 asymptomatic) were divided into 4 groups: experimental group with PFP, sham group with PFP, experimental group without PFP, and sham group without PFP. Intervention(s): The experimental groups received MWM for the hip, and the sham groups received sham mobilization. Main Outcome Measures: Pain, trunk, and lower-limb kinematics, and hip and knee kinetics during single-leg squats and landings. Results: After the interventions, no difference between groups was found for pain. The PFP experimental group decreased hip internal rotation during squats compared with the PFP sham group (P = .03). There was no other significant difference between PFP groups for kinematic or kinetic outcomes during squats, as well as for any outcome during landings. There was no difference between asymptomatic groups for any of the outcomes in any of the tasks. Conclusions: Hip mobilization was ineffective to reduce pain in people with PFP. Hip MWM may contribute to dynamic lower-limb realignment in females with PFP by decreasing hip internal rotation during squats. Therefore, hip MWM could be potentially useful as a complementary intervention for patients with PFP.