Pain sensitization in patients with patellofemoral pain: a mixed-method systematic scoping review

Aim: As patellofemoral pain (PFP) has been shown to be a persistent pathology, the purpose of this mixed-method systematic scoping review was to investigate the available literature about central pain among these patients. Methods: The Pubmed, Scopus, PsycInfo and PEDro electronic databases were screened in January 2019. The Newcastle-Ottawa quality assessment scale was used to evaluate the quality of the included studies. Results: A total of 13 studies were included in this review, all with a good quality. Lower self-perceived health status, kinesiophobia and mental distress were found in PFP patients with mental distress and self-perceived health status correlated to knee pain and function, as well as the level of depression with the KOOS score. Pressure pain threshold was lower at the knee and at a site remote from it for PFP patients and only at the knee for recovered-PFP patients. The thermal, vibration and tactile thresholds were impaired among PFP patients while the results for conditioned pain modulation and temporal summation of pain were inconsistent. Conclusion: This study highlights the presence of central sensitisation among PFP patients, but results should be taken with caution due to the lack of high-quality studies.