Patellofemoral pain and the infrapatellar brace. A military view.

Thirty-seven cases of patellofemoral pain in young, active military recruits were studied. All patients were provided with an infrapatellar brace as a method of treatment. Nine patients (24%) demonstrated some improvement in symptoms at 1 week following application. Eight patients (22%) with maximum relief at 1 week were also shown to be symptom free at 1 year. Twelve patients (32%) with poor results were arthroscoped; eleven of these (92%) were found to have chondromalacia of the patella. Our success rate for subjective symptoms, after using the infrapatellar brace in this study, does not compare favorably with those reported by Levine using the same device.