Complex treatment of patellofemoral pain syndrome in athletes after reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament of the knee joint

Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS, patellar chondromalacia) after knee surgery is an important problem in sports medicine, solutions to which have not been developed enough.Objective: to determine the effect of complex treatment using an injectable chondroprotector and special exercise therapy on the functional state, statokinetic stability and severity of PFPS in athletes after reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) of the knee joint.Patients and methods. An observational randomized controlled trial included 40 athletes after ACL reconstruction. The patients were divided into two groups. In the control group (n=20), a special rehabilitation technique was used after ACL reconstruction. In the main group (n=20), along with a similar method of rehabilitation, patients received a course of intramuscular injections of Alflutop (1 ml, No. 20). The duration of rehabilitation treatment was 1 month.Pain was assessed using a numerical rating scale and knee joint function using the Kujala questionnaire, statokinetic stability was assessed before and after complex rehabilitation treatment.Results and discussion. One month after the start of rehabilitation measures, both groups showed a significant decrease in pain intensity and an improvement in the functional state of the knee joint according to the Kujala questionnaire. The study of statokinetic stability indicators showed that after the course of rehabilitation in both groups, when standing with open eyes, there was a decrease in the area of the common center of pressure — CCOP (p<0.05) and an improvement in statokinetic stability, and when standing with eyes closed, a decrease in the CCOP area (p<0.05). At the same time, the difference in the results before and after the course of rehabilitation in the main group was significantly greater than in the control (p<0.05). The speed of the CCOP movement with open eyes in both groups did not change significantly: when standing with eyes closed, its positive dynamics was revealed after the course of rehabilitation (p<0.05).Conclusion. Intramuscular SYSADOA injection therapy, which was used as part of a rehabilitation program, reduced pain and improved the function of the knee joint and had a positive effect on statokinetic stability in athletes after ACL reconstruction.