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Jump-landing mechanics assessment using landing error scoring system in athletes with and without patellofemoral pain

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Abstract

Purpose

This study was a cross-sectional study that aimed to compare the total Landing error scoring system (LESS) scores of individuals with Patellofemoral pain (PFP) with healthy controls and assess the association of pain, function, and psychological factors with LESS score.

Methods

Twenty-seven male athletes with PFP completed a standardized jump-landing task. They were compared with a matched, healthy group. Also, participants completed four questionnaires involving the visual analog scale (VAS), Anterior knee pain scale (AKPS), Tampa scale of kinesiophobia (TSK), Beck anxiety and depression inventory scale (BAI, BDI).

Results

PFP group had significantly a higher total LESS score than the control group. They displayed lateral trunk flexion and less knee flexion in the initial contact of landing. Our results showed a significant strong correlation between VAS, AKPS, and TSK with a final score LESS. In addition, a low to moderate significant correlation obtained between BAI, BDI and final score LESS.

Conclusions

The LESS is a useful clinical test for evaluating landing errors in people with PFP. Greater kinesiophobia, pain, poorer self-reported function and psychological factors were correlated with a total LESS score.

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Data availability

The datasets are not public available due to the confidentiality of the data, but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This project was supported by a grant from the Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences for financial support (Grant number: PHT-9913).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation Research Center, Department of physiotherapy, school of rehabilitation sciences, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

    Majid Rabbani Havigh & Mayam Saadat

  2. Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

    Fateme Esfandiarpour

  3. Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

    Mina Jahangiri

Authors
  1. Majid Rabbani Havigh
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  2. Fateme Esfandiarpour
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  3. Mayam Saadat
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  4. Mina Jahangiri
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Contributions

MS had the primary responsibility for writing the manuscript. FS and MS devised the project and its main conceptual ideas, devised the study design, MR collected data, and MJ analyzed the data. FS edited the final paper version. All authors have read and approved the final paper version of the manuscript and agree with the order of presentation of the authors.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mayam Saadat.

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Conflict of interest

Authors report no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval and informed consent

The present study was approved by Ethics Committee of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Science and was conducted in accordance with the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki. All participants signed informed consent before the entry of the study (Number: IR.AJUMS.REC.1399.374).

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Rabbani Havigh, M., Esfandiarpour, F., Saadat, M. et al. Jump-landing mechanics assessment using landing error scoring system in athletes with and without patellofemoral pain. Sport Sci Health 20, 97–102 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-023-01070-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-023-01070-y

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