Effect of intraarticular glycosaminoglycan polysulfate treatment on patellofemoral pain syndrome. A prospective, randomized double-blind trial comparing glycosaminoglycan polysulfate with placebo and quadriceps muscle exercises. The comparative analgesic efficacy of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug for painful osteoarthritis. Efficacy and tolerability of the specific cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor DFP compared with naproxen sodium in patients with postoperative dental pain. Randomized controlled trial of Protonics on patellar pain, position, and function. Intramuscular NSAIDS reduce post-operative pain after minor outpatient anaesthesia. [Menstrual prostaglandin and dysmenorrhea: modulation by non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs].
To compare the effects of intraarticular (IA) injections of glycosaminoglycan polysulfate (GAGPS) plus basic conservative treatment with the effects of placebo injections plus conservative treatment and with the effects of conservative treatment alone in patients with chronic patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS).
                We treated 53 patients who presented with chronic PFPS in 1 knee, according to 1 of the 3 protocols, in a prospective, randomized, double-blind study. Basic conservative treatment consisted of a 6-week program of quadriceps muscle exercise, elimination of symptom-producing activities, and oral doses of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs. Physiologic saline served as placebo for injection. During the 6-week treatment period, 5 injections were given 1 week apart. Along with measurements of quadriceps strength, standardized subjective, functional, and clinical assessments were performed at presentation, after 6 weeks of treatment, and after 6 months.
                Results at 6 months indicated that IA injections of GAGPS or saline did not result in significant improvement beyond the good results achieved by the basic conservative treatment alone. More than two-thirds of the patients in each group experienced complete recovery.
                Neither the GAGPS injections nor the physiologic saline injections are more effective than conservative therapy in the treatment of chronic PFPS. Restoration of normal quadriceps muscle function to the affected knee seems to be crucial in treating PFPS. Thirty-six non-hospitalized subjects with chronic pain from OA of the knee participated in an evaluation of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and naproxen, an NSAID. All pre-experiment treatment was withdrawn. Each subject experienced in some order three 3-week treatment phases: NSAID plus placebo TENS; TENS plus placebo drug; and double placebo. A broad range of pain measures was used, including daily diary ratings, and four-times-per-day ratings entered into a small electronic data logger (the PIPER) worn by the subject. A substantial placebo response occurred across all conditions, which may have masked treatment differences. Broad comparisons across subjects, combining the four main measures of pain, found no significant differences among the three experimental treatments. Analysis of diary and PIPER data for individuals suggested that, in a small minority of subjects, the NSAID plus placebo TENS combination may be more effective than double placebo. The PIPER ratings seemed to tap aspects of the pain experience different from those captured by conventional measures, suggesting the value of very frequent pain assessments, such as those entered by a subject into the PIPER, in the study of chronic pain. DFP [3-(2-propyloxy)-(4-methyl-sulfonylphenyl)-(5,5-dimethyl)-fu ranone] is a highly specific cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor (>2500-fold selective in transfected Chinese hamster ovary cell assays) that has demonstrated efficacy in preclinical models of pain and inflammation. The present single-dose, randomized, double-masked, double-dummy, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study was undertaken to compare DFP 5, 25, and 50 mg with naproxen sodium 550 mg and with placebo in 196 patients (mean age, 25.8 years; 187 [95.4%] males) who experienced moderate-to-severe pain after surgical removal of > or =2 third molars. Overall analgesic effect, duration of effect, time to onset of analgesic effect, peak analgesic effect, and tolerability were assessed over a 24-hour postdose period. Both DFP 25 and 50 mg, as well as the active comparator, naproxen sodium 550 mg, were significantly more effective than placebo. The onset of analgesic effect in the DFP 25-mg, DFP 50-mg, and naproxen sodium 550-mg groups did not differ significantly. DFP was generally well tolerated in single doses up to 50 mg. DFP 50 mg was efficacious in the treatment of postoperative dental pain and was indistinguishable from the active comparator, naproxen sodium 550 mg. Patellofemoral pain (PFP) and abnormal patellofemoral congruence (PFC) are common athletic problems whose treatment remains controversial. This study examined the effects of a high volume of submaximal knee muscle exercise on objective measures of PFP and PFC under a test-retest design.
                A sample of 100 subjects was randomly divided into two groups: control and treatment. All subjects of both groups were tested for PFC, using a Merchant x-ray view, function, via Kujala patellofemoral score (KPS), and pain, through a visual analog scale (VAS), initially and then 4 wk later. The treatment group exercised during activities of daily living (ADL) by wearing a Protonics device; the control group did not receive treatment.
                One-way analysis of variance tests found no difference between pre- and posttest results for the control group but found significant changes in PFC, KPS, and VAS (all P < 0.001). PFC and joint function improved, and PFP decreased in all subjects of the treatment group. CONCLUSIONS/CLINICAL RELEVANCE: It was concluded that the treatment reduced PFP and PFC as compared with the control. A high volume of submaximal knee exercise seems useful for clinical patients with PFP and abnormal PFC. Two hundred healthy patients scheduled for elective minor gynaecological surgery under general anaesthesia were randomly allocated to one of four groups who received either diclofenac 75 mg intramuscularly (i.m.), ketorolac 30 mg i.m., diclofenac 50 mg orally, or 2 mL NaCl i.m. The drugs were administered 10-20 min prior to a standard anaesthetic. All surgery was uneventful. The patients were discharged after a mean of 110 +/- 30 min with no differences between the groups. Complaints about pain and need for post-operative analgesics were significantly less frequent in the two groups of patients receiving an intramuscular non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), as compared to placebo. The patients who received 50 mg diclofenac orally, administered shortly before the procedure, had the same pain course as the placebo patients. The analgesic efficacy and tolerance of lysine clonixinate (LC) as well as LC-induced changes in menstrual prostaglandin levels were studied according to a prospective double-blind randomized crossover design, controlled with ibuprofen (I) and placebo (P). Treatment consisted in 4 consecutive phases: in the first phase, patients refrained from taking medication and during the remaining three phases, they received double-blind fixed doses of 1 tablet of lysine clonixinate 125 mg, I 400 mg or P, q.6 h. at random, three days before onset of menses and during 8 days thereafter. Controls were carried out at each menstrual cycle, assessing pain according to a scale from 0 to 4, onset of premenstrual and intramenstrual symptoms, relief of pain and occurrence of side-effects. During menstruation, patients recorded their assessments of pain in a diary and collected the whole menstrual bleeding during the first three days. The intensity of menstrual pain remained unchanged in controls upon admission (3.16) and during the phase with no treatment (3.04), but was significantly reduced with P (2.4), LC (1.79) and I (1.54). Significantly lower pain intensities compared with placebo were seen with active treatment phases. Forty-two percent of patients treated with P reported premenstrual pain which was significantly reduced to 17% with LC and to 12.5% with I. Active treatment phases revealed 21% of asymptomatic patients during premenstrual and menstrual periods and 71% (LC) and 75% (I) of cases with partial relief of pain. Patients' diaries showed significant pain reductions with LC and I, during the 1st and 2nd days compared with P; such differences were gradually reduced to nil by the 4th day. Levels of menstrual PGs changed according to pain intensity reductions from baseline (P: 29%, (NS); LC: 58% and I: 61%; both were statistically significant, p < 0.01).
There is only limited evidence for the effectiveness of NSAIDs for short term pain reduction in PFPS. The evidence for the effect of glycosaminoglycan polysulphate is conflicting and merits further investigation. The anabolic steroid nandrolone may be effective, but is too controversial for treatment of PFPS.