Feasibility Study: Does a Designated Education Session Change Levels of Catastrophizing, Kinesiophobia and Pain Beliefs in Patients With Patellofemoral Pain?

Feasibility study: Does a designated education session change levels of catastrophizing, kinesiophobia and pain beliefs in patients with patellofemoral pain? Design: Single site feasibility Study Aim: Aims are to identify if a formal education session (intervention) improves patient outcomes and to assess if it is possible to test the intervention for efficacy in a larger study.

Outcome Measures: The primary outcome measure is the Knee Osteoarthritis Outcome Score-Patellofemoral) KOOS-PF. The original KOOS consists of 5 subscales; Pain, other Symptoms, Activities of Daily Living (ADL), Function in sport and recreation (Sport/Rec) and knee related Quality of Life (QOL). The KOOS-PF was developed to evaluate individuals or samples of individuals who present with anterior knee pain/patellofemoral pain and/or patellofemoral osteoarthritis (OA), or who are at risk of developing patellofemoral pain or OA.

Secondary Outcome Measures are Pain Catastrophizing Scale and The Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia.

Patients who are eligible for inclusion in the study will be identified from the Musculoskeletal Clinical Assessment Service (MCAS) by Band 6's and 7's and approved by a Band 8 Physiotherapist the South Liverpool Treatment Centre.

Intervention: The intervention will comprise a 1:1, 30 minute education session delivered by a specialist musculoskeletal physiotherapist with over ten years' experience who has an interest in patellofemoral pain.

The education session will be based on a schedule formed from the most recent research on patellofemoral pain PFP which considers psychosocial factors (Robertson et al 2017). Crepitus is a word used to describe any grinding, creaking, cracking, grating, crunching or popping that occurs when the patellofemoral joint moves (Robertson et al 2017). The psychological factors, specifically patients' beliefs about crepitus, avoiding crepitus and the influence of others will be discussed.

The intervention will be supported by the leaflet 'managing my patellofemoral pain' developed by Barton and Rathleff (2016) on the basis of international opinion from 21 international experts and subsequent review by 20 patients diagnosed with PFP to ensure clarity.

Duration: Within the time constraints of a Masters Degree, patients will be recruited over a four month period. There will be four months for follow up and a further four months for write up, total study duration 12 months.