Has the incidence or prevalence of patellofemoral pain in the general population in the United Kingdom been properly evaluated?

Abstract 

Background and purpose

The aims of this paper were to investigate the cited incidence, and to establish the source data for quoted figures, ratios, prevalence or incidence of patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) for the British general adult population.

Method

A literature search of all English language peer reviewed publications from January 2000 to December 2005 with the search terms ‘patellofemoral pain’, ‘patellofemoral pain syndrome’ and ‘anterior knee pain’.

Results

Of the papers retrieved, 40 cited some sort of percentage figure or a ratio for the incidence or prevalence of PFPS. An incidence rate for PFPS of 25% (or 1:4) was cited in 13/40 papers, but other incidence rates cited ranged from 3% to 40%. There seemed to be 4 key references that other authors used to substantiate their cited values for PFPS prevalence or incidence or rate. There were no epidemiological papers studying the incidence or prevalence of PFPS in the United Kingdom.

Conclusion

The evidence for the cited incidence of PFPS or anterior knee pain in the adult general population is taken almost entirely from source data in the sports medicine or the military settings. Of these, only one was set in the United Kingdom. We conclude that the prevalence of PFPS in the United Kingdom has not been properly evaluated and consequently there is clearly a need for a study on the incidence rates of PFPS in this country's general population.

Keywords: Patellofemoral pain syndrome, Anterior knee pain, Prevalence, Epidemiology