Patellar tendon reflex and vastus medialis hoffmann reflex are down regulated and correlated in women with patellofemoral pain
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Objectives The aims of this study were threefold: (1) to compare the amplitude of patellar tendon reflex (T-reflex) between women with patellofemoral pain (PFP) and pain-free controls; (2) to compare the amplitude of vastus medialis Hoffmann reflex (VM H-reflex) between women with PFP and pain-free controls; (3) to investigate the association between the amplitude of patellar T-reflex and VM H-reflex in women with PFP and pain-free controls.Design Cross-sectional observational study.Setting Laboratory of biomechanics and motor control.Participants Thirty women with PFP and 30 pain-free women aged 18 to 35 years (N=60).Main outcome measures Peak-to-peak amplitudes of maximal VM H-reflex (elicited via electrical stimulation on the femoral nerve) and patellar T-reflex (elicited via mechanical percussion on the patellar tendon) were estimated.Results Women with PFP had significant lower amplitude of patellar T-reflex (mean difference=0.086; 95% confidence interval=0.020 to 0.151; P=.010; moderate effect) and VM H-reflex (mean difference=0.150; 95% confidence interval =0.073 to 0.227; P<.001; large effect) compared to pain-free controls. The VM H-reflex was strongly correlated with patellar T-reflex in both PFP group (r=0.66; P<.001) and control group (r=0.72; P<.001).Conclusions As the T-reflex is easier to perform than H-reflex assessments in a clinical setting, it represents a feasible option to assess the impaired excitability of the stretch reflex pathway associated with PFP.
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The vastus medialis Hoffmann reflex is strongly correlated with the patellar T-reflex in both groups.
“Pazzinatto et al. investigated women with and without patellofemoral pain (PFP) to compare the amplitudes of the patellar tendon reflex and the vastus medialis Hoffmann reflex (VM H-reflex) between the two groups. They found that women with PFP exhibited significantly lower amplitudes of the patellar T-reflex compared to pain-free controls, and that the VM H-reflex was strongly correlated with the”
From Assessing neuromuscular system via patellar tendon reflex analysis using EMG in healthy individuals (2025) · cites this paper as [16]
Women with patellofemoral pain exhibit significantly lower amplitudes of the patellar T-reflex compared to pain-free controls.
“Pazzinatto et al. investigated women with and without patellofemoral pain (PFP) to compare the amplitudes of the patellar tendon reflex and the vastus medialis Hoffmann reflex (VM H-reflex) between the two groups. They found that women with PFP exhibited significantly lower amplitudes of the patellar T-reflex compared to pain-free controls, and that the VM H-reflex was strongly correlated with the”
From Assessing neuromuscular system via patellar tendon reflex analysis using EMG in healthy individuals (2025) · cites this paper as [16]
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- Authors
- Pazzinatto, M. F., de Oliveira Silva, D., Ferreira, A. S., Waiteman, M. C., Pappas, E., Magalhães, F. H., & Azevedo, F. M. D.
- Affiliations
- La Trobe University (AU)
- Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp) (BR)
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
- Corresponding author
- Pazzinatto, Marcella Ferraz
- ORCID
- Venue
- Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2019-03
- Volume
- 100
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 514-519
- ISSN
- 0003-9993 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2884699334
- Cited by
- 18
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 3
- FWCI
- 0.90
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Americanae (AECID Library) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Sao Paulo Research Foundation - FAPESP (2016/50320-0)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Lower Extremity Biomechanics and Pathologies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Pain Mechanisms and Treatments
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Muscle activation and electromyography studies
- Keywords
- patellofemoral pain, patellar reflex, H-reflex, vastus medialis, women, femoral nerve stimulation, knee pain
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Cross-Sectional Studies, Feasibility Studies, Female, H-Reflex, Humans, Patella, Reflex, Abnormal, Reflex, Stretch, Case-Control Studies, Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome, Quadriceps Muscle, Young Adult
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