Understanding the Patient-Provider Relationship in Patellofemoral Pain: A Mixed-Methods Study

MIRROR will provide onsite research staff to support both ongoing and future research conducted by physical therapists enrolled in the Army-Baylor University Doctoral Fellowship in Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy, as well as research led by Fellowship faculty and staff. These personnel will assist the Principal Investigator and study team with coordinating research activities, which may include clinical outcomes collection, participant recruitment, data collection and management, regulatory support, and other assigned tasks. Additionally, they will support report generation and project close-out activities.

This study aims to determine which patient-provider contextual factors are associated with patient outcomes following a course of physical therapy for patellofemoral pain (PFP). The primary aim is to assess whether therapeutic alliance is associated with knee function, pain severity, and symptom satisfaction at 3 months following a standard course of care physical therapy treatment for PFP. Secondary aims include exploring whether patient-centered care and shared decision-making are associated with these same outcomes, as well as qualitatively examining patient perspectives on facilitators and barriers to establishing therapeutic alliance, shared decision-making, and patient-centered care during physical therapy treatment.