The Effects and Predictors of Patella Taping in the Treatment of Patellafemoral Pain Syndrome

Background: Taping has been used for more than 20 years for patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) but the effectiveness is still controversial. Purpose: This prospective study was conducted to investigate the effect and predictors of effectiveness of taping in treating PFPS. Study design: Prospective cohort study Methods: One hundred consecutive patients with the diagnosis of PFPS were included in the study. Factors including sex, age, body mass index (BMI), Q angle, lateral patella displacement (LPD), lateral patellofemoral angle (LPA) and pre-taping pain score were measured. One well-trained therapist applied adhesive tape to each patient by McConnell approach. Before and after taping, patients completed a visual analog pain scale (VAS) after performing a step-down from an 8-inch platform. Paired-t test was used for the difference of the VAS score measured before and after taping. Patients with improvement of more than 1 point in VAS score after taping were considered responsible, and others were non-responsible. The results were analyzed by logistic regression.