Reliability of electromyography parameters during stair deambulation in patellofemoral pain syndrome

Abstract

Reliability is essential to all aspects of the measure, as it shows the quality of the information and allows rational conclusions with regard to the data. There has been controversial results regarding the reliability of electromyographic parameters assessed during stair ascent and descent in individuals with patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS). Therefore, this study aims to determine the reliability of time and frequency domain electromyographic parameters on both gestures in women with PFPS. Thirty-one women with PFPS were selected to participate in this study. Data from vastus lateralis and medialis were collected during stair deambulation. The selected parameters were: automatic onset, median frequency bands of low, medium and high frequency. Reliability was determined by intraclass correlation coefficient and the standard error of measurement. The frequency domain variables have shown good reliability, with the stair ascent presenting the best rates. On the other hand, onset has proved to be inconsistent in all measures. Our findings suggest that stair ascent is more reliable than stair descent to evaluate subjects with PFPS in the most cases.

Patellofemoral pain and sports practice: reduced symptoms and higher quality of life in adolescent athletes as compared to non-athletes

“…As previously mentioned, PFP is one of the most common diagnoses in sports medicine, accounting for nearly 25% of all identified knee injuries (De Oliveira Silva, Briani, Pazzinatto, Ferrari, Aragão, Albuquerque, et al, 2015a;Pazzinatto et al, 2015;Silva et al, 2015). It is a common problem, encompassing a variety of symptoms without a single identifiable cause (De Oliveira Silva, Briani, Pazzinatto, Ferrari, Aragão, & de Azevedo, 2015b; Witvrouw et al, 2014).…”

Delayed onset of electromyographic activity of the vastus medialis relative to the vastus lateralis may be related to physical activity levels in females with patellofemoral pain

“…After finding the VM and VL motor points, the skin over the anterior portion of the thigh was cleaned with rubbing alcohol. The electrodes were placed 2 cm below the motor point in the direction of the muscle belly, with a 20 mm interelectrode distance (Pazzinatto et al, 2015). This motor point method for positioning the electrodes is in accordance with the Surface Electromyography for the Non-Invasive Assessment of Muscles (SENIAM) (Hermens et al, 2000).…”