According to a retrospective case-control analysis by Taunton et al, of the 2,002 running-related injuries seen at a primary care sports injury facility, 42.1% (842/2,002) were knee injuries. Of these knee injuries, 39.3% (331/842) were due to patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS), which made PFPS far and away the most common disgnosis found in this large-scale study. Additionally, an older study done in 1984 showed similar results. Devereaux et al found that over a five year period, 137 patients presented with PFPS, which accounted for 25% of all knee injuries seen at this sports injury clinic. These two studies were conducted 17 years apart, giving support to the consistently high prevalence of this disorder, but the real question is, how are we treating these patients?

Based on a biomechanical study completed by Lieb et al in 1968, the vastus medialis obliquus (VMO) has been the mainstay of most physical therapy…