NCT00662493

Brief Summary

Pain at the front of the knee is a common condition treated by physical therapists. Treatment may consist of generalised strengthening exercises directed at the quadriceps muscle or specific retraining aimed at restoring motor control at the knee. This study compared these two exercise programs in a group of people who were painfree at the time to evaluate their effect on motor control. It was hypothesised that only the motor retraining program would influence motor control at the knee.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
60

participants targeted

Target at P50-P75 for phase_2

Timeline
Completed

Started Mar 2003

Typical duration for phase_2

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

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Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Start

First participant enrolled

March 1, 2003

Completed
2.8 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

December 1, 2005

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

December 1, 2005

Completed
2.4 years until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

April 15, 2008

Completed
6 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

April 21, 2008

Completed
Last Updated

April 21, 2008

Status Verified

April 1, 2008

Enrollment Period

2.8 years

First QC Date

April 15, 2008

Last Update Submit

April 18, 2008

Conditions

Knee PainPatellofemoral Pain

Keywords

knee painexerciserehabilitation

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • latency between the onset of VMO electromyographic activity relative to that of VL during stair ascent and stair descent measured using surface electrodes

    6 weeks with 8 week followup

Secondary Outcomes (1)

  • Concentric and eccentric quadriceps muscle strength as assessed by isokinetic dynamometry

    6 weeks with 8 week followup

Study Arms (1)

1

EXPERIMENTAL

Motor control retraining program

Behavioral: Motor control retraining programBehavioral: Quadriceps strengthening program

Interventions

Motor control retraining programBEHAVIORAL

Specific retraining of VMO activation in a low-load situation,and progressed to integrate more functional positions. Use of dual channel biofeedback was incorporated

1
Quadriceps strengthening programBEHAVIORAL

4 exercises focused on quadriceps strengthening commencing at a resistance of 60% 1 repetition maximum. Each exercise was performed for 3 sets of 10 repetitions

1

Eligibility Criteria

Age16 Years - 40 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsChild (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

  • aged between 16-40 years, with the upper age limit to reduce the likelihood of osteoarthritic changes in the patellofemoral joint
  • a self-reported history of anterior or retropatellar knee pain with insidious onset of symptoms and with at least one episode of pain in the past 12 months where pain was aggravated by at least two of the following: prolonged sitting, stairs, squat, running, kneeling and hopping/jumping
  • currently asymptomatic for at least 8 weeks prior to assessment
  • delay in the onset of VMO EMG relative to that of VL of greater than 10 ms during either the ascent or descent of a stair stepping task

You may not qualify if:

  • current knee pain
  • history of knee surgery or other knee injury in previous 12 months
  • physiotherapy treatment for knee pain in the past 12 months
  • history of patellar dislocation/subluxation
  • clinical evidence of meniscal lesion, ligamentous instability, traction apophysitis around the patellofemoral complex, patellar tendon pathology, chondral damage, osteoarthritis and spinal referred pain
  • current lower limb pathology affecting their ability to satisfactorily complete the testing or exercise protocol
  • current use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory or corticosteroid drugs
  • inability to communicate and comprehend written or verbal instructions in English

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

University of Melbourne

Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia

Location

Related Publications (1)

  • Bennell K, Duncan M, Cowan S, McConnell J, Hodges P, Crossley K. Effects of vastus medialis oblique retraining versus general quadriceps strengthening on vasti onset. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2010 May;42(5):856-64. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181c12771.

    PMID: 19997004DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Patellofemoral Pain SyndromeMotor Activity

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Joint DiseasesMusculoskeletal DiseasesBehavior

Study Officials

  • Kim L Bennell, PhD

    University of Melbourne

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

  • Kim Bennell

    University of Melbourne

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

  • Kim Bennell, PhD

    University of Melbourne

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
phase 2
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
SINGLE
Who Masked
OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

April 15, 2008

First Posted

April 21, 2008

Study Start

March 1, 2003

Primary Completion

December 1, 2005

Study Completion

December 1, 2005

Last Updated

April 21, 2008

Record last verified: 2008-04

Locations

AU(1)