M.Tech. / The purpose of this unblinded controlled study was to determine the effective of dry needling of the Vastus Medialis Oblique muscle when utilised in conjunction with conservative chiropractic management for Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS). The subjects of the trial were treated at the Chiropractic Day Clinic at the University of Johannesburg. Thirty patients suffering from chronic Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome were chosen for the study and they were divided into two groups of fifteen. The first group received conservative chiropractic care which consisted of manipulation of the sacroiliac joint, mobilisation of the knee and patella joints and stretching and strengthening exercises consisting of Quadriceps standing self stretch and Quadriceps setting as the strengthening exercise. The second group received the above treatment but also underwent dry needling of the Vastus Medialis Oblique muscle. The objective data for this research was recorded using a lower limb isometric dynamometer and the subjective data was recorded with a pain scale. Both sets of data were recorded on the first, third and fifth treatments. The results of the trial showed that there was a significant increase in strength with a reduction in pain levels for both groups but there was no statistically significant difference when comparing the two groups. The dry needling group did however improve at a faster rate than the other group but it did even out after the five treatments. What was noteworthy is that the males of the study improved their strength by a much greater extent than the females which is uncommon for PFPS. The end result of this study is that overall, dry needling of the Vastus Medialis Oblique muscle is not highly beneficial in the long term management of PFPS but does have its benefits in the early stages of the treatment in order to relieve the acute pain and increase the Quadriceps muscle strength rapidly.

M.Tech. / This study compared the effectiveness of two different Chiropractic treatment protocols in the treatment of patellofemoral pain syndrome. This was done in order to establish whether or not core stabilisation exercises play a role in the treatment of patellofemoral pain syndrome. Thirty participants were used for this study. They were randomly placed into two groups namely; group 1 and group 2. Group 1 received strengthening exercises of the quadriceps muscle group and stretching exercises of the hamstring muscles. Group 2 received strengthening of the quadriceps muscle group, stretching of the hamstring muscles and core stabilisation exercises. Six treatments were administered over a period of three weeks with each participant receiving two treatments per week. Prior to the commencement of treatments one, three and six; each participant was objectively measured for quadriceps strength using the isometric dynamometer. The subjective measurements used in this study were the Numerical Pain Rating Scale and the Patellofemoral Joint Evaluation Scale, these were also completed prior to the first, third and sixth treatments. All the collected data was statistically analysed using the one-way Anova test, the Independent-t test and the Paired-t test. The statistical analysis revealed statistical differences on intra-group analysis for both groups involved especially between treatment 3 and treatment 6 for both the objective and subjective measurements. On Inter-group analysis group 2’s subjective and objective measurements improved by a larger amount than group 1’s. It was thus concluded that a combined treatment of quadriceps strengthening, hamstring stretching and core stabilisation exercises was the most effective treatment protocol in individuals suffering from patellofemoral pain syndrome.