Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is highly prevalent in both adolescent and adult populations and as much as 91% of those affected experience ongoing knee pain for up to 20 years after the initial diagnosis. Exercise-based treatment focusing on strengthening the muscles around the hip and knee is usually effective when treating patient with PFP. However, this approach has proven ineffective in a subgroup of females who have suffered from PFP for multiple years. This group was found to have a significantly lower tolerance for pressure stimuli compared to healthy controls. This indicating that central mechanisms within the nervous system rather than the problem being the knee itself. Exercising a non-painful muscle distant to a painful part of the body has previously been effective in deceasing pain in affected area. This mechanism has been investigated in patients with long-standing musculoskeletal pain as well as healthy populations. Related research has suggested that a possible link between patients perception of painful stimuli an the pain-reducing effect of exercise exists. As such, patients witch experienced a pain reducing effect of exercise was found to be able to tolerate more pain than before the intervention. The aim of this study is to assess if exercising a distant non-painful muscle around the hip has a larger acute pain-reducing effect on knee pain compared to knee specific exercises in female patients with long-standing PFP.
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Change in Pain pressure threshold (PPT) at the center of patella.
Timeframe: This will be assessed at 1) baseline, 2) approximately 5 minutes after the first exercise intervention (hip or knee) and 3) approximately 5 minutes after the second exercise intervention (hip or knee).