Modificações da técnica de corrida : aspectos biomecânicos e clínicos em corredores com e sem dor patelofemoral

Abstract

Every year, up to 70% of recreational runners reported some musculoskeletal injury. Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is one of the most common injuries in these athletes. It has been reported that gait retraining may have a beneficial effect on the lower limb biomechanics and consequently may reduce the patellofemoral joint overload. However, the information regarding biomechanical and clinical effects after a training protocol in PFP runners and, the comparison between different techniques in a same cohort in order to identify the most effective are sparse. Therefore, the objectives of this thesis were: to evaluate the immediate and long-term effects of gait retraining of kinematic, electromyography, pain and function in PFP runners and; to verify the effectiveness of three running techniques on the patelofemoral joint stress in healthy runners. The three running techniques were: forefoot landing, step rate increase by 10% and forward trunk lean. Kinematic, kinetic and electromyography analysis were done. To assess pain and function, the visual analog scale and two self-reported questionnaires were used. The results showed that the three running techniques reduce pain intensity and improve function in PFP runners after 2 weeks of a supervised gait retraining and, these improvements are maintained 6 months after the intervention. The gait retraining increased the muscle pre-activation before the initial contact. Forefoot landing technique was the most effective condition for reducing patellofemoral joint loading.