Relationship between Knee Symptoms and Biological Features in Recreational Runners

Objective  The main objective of the present study was to compare the subjective perception of pain and symptoms of anterior knee pain with the different body mass index (BMI) classifications. The secondary objective was to verify the association between biological and anthropometric variables with the results of subjective questionnaires. Methods  A total of 126 recreational runners from both genders, aged between 20 and 59 years old, were recruited. Data regarding the biological variable (age), anthropometric variables (weight, height), visual analog scale (VAS), and Lysholm and Kujala questionnaires scores were collected. Information was obtained with a digital platform, available through a single link, allowing volunteers to answer these questions using electronic devices. Normality was verified by the Shapiro-Wilk test. T-tests and Wilcoxon tests were used to compare mean values. The association between variables was determined by the Pearson linear correlation. Results  There were significant differences in height between overweight and grade 1 obesity subjects ( p  = 0.029), in weight and BMI comparing normal weight subjects and both overweight and grade 1 obesity subjects ( p  < 0.001 and p  < 0.05, respectively). An unclear significant correlation was observed between BMI values and specific questionnaires and subjective scale scores ( p  < 0.05). Conclusion  Recreational runners who present high BMI values are more likely to experience knee pain than those with normal BMI values.