OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of education interventions compared with any type of comparator for managing patellofemoral pain (PFP). DESIGN: Intervention systematic review. LITERATURE SEARCH: Medline, Embase, CINAHL and Web of Science were searched for studies evaluating the effect of education on clinical and functional outcomes of people with PFP. The study protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42018088671). STUDY SELECTION CRITERIA: Two reviewers independently assessed studies for inclusion and quality. We included randomised controlled trials in PFP where at least one group received an education intervention (in isolation or in combination with other interventions). DATA SYNTHESIS: Available data were synthesized via meta-analysis where possible, data that were not appropriate for pooling were synthesised qualitatively. Interpretation were guided by Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE). RESULTS: Nine trials were identified. Low-credibility evidence indicates health education material alone is inferior compared to exercise-therapy for pain and function outcomes. Low and very low-credibility evidence indicates that health-professional delivered education alone produced similar outcomes to exercise-therapy combined with health-professional delivered education for pain and function outcomes, respectively. CONCLUSION: Health professional delivered education may produce similar outcomes in pain and function compared to exercise-therapy plus health professional delivered education in people with PFP.

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