Abstract
Background:
Anterior knee pain (AKP) is a common limitation to children’s participation in social and physical activities. Therefore, to prevent the occurrence and protraction of AKP, it is crucial to identify risk factors. The purpose of this study was to clarify the factors associated with the occurrence and protraction of AKP in children and adolescents.
Method:
A three-year prospective cohort study was conducted with children and adolescents aged 8–14 in Japan. We recorded the occurrence of AKP, heel buttock distance, straight leg raising angle (SLRA), dorsiflexion angle of the ankle joint, and the Hospital for Special Surgery Pediatric Functional Activity Brief Scale (HSS Pedi-FABS). Logistic regression analysis was performed to calculate the odds ratio (OR) for each predicted risk factor for the occurrence and protraction of AKP among subjects without AKP at baseline.
Results:
We recruited 1,254 children and adolescents for the present study, and 1,133 children and adolescents who did not have AKP at baseline were included in the analysis. Six to nine percent of the subjects developed AKP annually. A high HSS Pedi-FABS score significantly predicted AKP occurrence (in 2017, OR 1.07, 95% CI 1.02−1.12, p = 0.003; in 2018, OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.01−1.10, p = 0.025). Of the participants, 32.9% developed chronic AKP during the follow-up period. When 8-year-old was used as a reference age, 13-year-old subjects (right side, OR 2.37, 95% CI, 1.00−5.61, p = 0.05) and 14-year-old subjects (right side, OR 2.57, 95% CI, 1.00−6.60, p = 0.049; left side, OR 6.32; 95% CI 1.33−30.00, p = 0.020) were at a significantly higher risk of AKP protraction.
Conclusions:
This study showed that a greater physical activity level was a risk factor for the onset of anterior knee pain in childhood. In addition, one-third of the children and adolescents developed chronic knee pain, and elderly adolescents were at a higher risk of protraction.
Risk Factors for the Occurrence and Protraction of Anterior Knee Pain in Children and Adolescents: a Prospective Cohort Study of 3 Years
