Foot exercise and taping in patients with patellofemoral pain and pronated foot.

This study compared the effect of three foot conditions (untreated, short foot [SF] exercise, and Tape) on knee and ankle muscle activity during forward descending of stairs in subjects with patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) and a pronated foot. Surface electromyography activities in the vastus medialis oblique (VMO), vastus lateralis (VL), and abductor hallucis (AbdH) were recorded during forward descending stairs; Surface electromyography data were expressed as percentages of the maximal voluntary isometric contraction. A total of 18 subjects (6 males and 12 females) with PFPS and a pronated foot participated in the current study. The SF exercise was associated with significantly greater AbdH muscle activity compared to the tape condition during forward descending stairs. However, there was no significant difference in VMO or VL muscle activity, or in the VMO/VL muscle activity ratio, among the three foot conditions. The SF exercise was the most effective method of increasing AbdH muscle activity during forward descending stairs in subjects with PFPS and a pronated foot.