To Investigate the Effect of PEMF for Knee OA Patients

NCT05442697 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 2022.242
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Health care costs are increasing alarmingly, which will impose an overwhelming economic burden to an aging society like that of Hong Kong. For example, degenerative musculoskeletal disorders such as osteoarthritis (OA) present a grand challenge with its high prevalence (\>40% in the elderly suffered from knee OA). Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis, and around 2 million population worldwide suffer from this disorder. OA is a debilitating progressive disease with typical pathological progress such as cartilage degeneration, inflammation, joint width narrowing and developing osteophytes. The main system of knee OA is acute pain leading to loss of mobility. There is no effective treatment to cure or stop the progression of OA. For now, the main method is to alleviate the pain and symptoms, including control weight, exercise, physical treatment and intake of NSAIDs/ paracetamol. Pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) treatment has shown to enhance cell activity related to tissue healing, delay bone and cartilage degeneration and give beneficial effects such as relief in pain, anti-inflammation and reduce swelling. In clinic, PEMF treatment has been reported to be safe, and has been proved to reduce the usage of NSAIDs and pain in patients with knee OA. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of PEMF therapy on for patients with knee OA.

Conditions

Knee Osteoarthritis

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Muscle power

  The isometric strength of the knee flexors and extensors was measured by a handheld dynamometer (MicroFET2, Hoggan Scientific, United States)

  Baseline (pre-treatment), 2 months (immediate post-treatment), 8 months (6 months post-treatment), and 14 months (12 months post-treatment)

Secondary Outcomes (6)

• Sonography

  Baseline (pre-treatment), 2 months (immediate post-treatment), 8 months (6 months post-treatment), and 14 months (12 months post-treatment)

• Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)

  Baseline (pre-treatment), 2 months (immediate post-treatment), 8 months (6 months post-treatment), and 14 months (12 months post-treatment)

• 6-meter timed walking test

  Baseline (pre-treatment), 2 months (immediate post-treatment), 8 months (6 months post-treatment), and 14 months (12 months post-treatment)

• 30-second chair stand test

  Baseline (pre-treatment), 2 months (immediate post-treatment), 8 months (6 months post-treatment), and 14 months (12 months post-treatment)

• X-ray Radiography

  Baseline (pre-treatment), 2 months (immediate post-treatment), and 14 months (12 months post-treatment)

Study Arms (2)

Mild-to-moderate Knee OA PEMF Treatment

EXPERIMENTAL

Patients with Mild-to-moderate Knee OA will accept PEMF treatment

Device: PEMF treatment

Mild-to-moderate Knee OA Placebo Treatment

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Patients with Mild-to-moderate Knee OA will accept placebo treatment

Device: Placebo treatment

Interventions

PEMF treatment DEVICE

Patient will receive a PEMF treatment. The involved leg will be exposed to PEMF for 30 minutes per session, and the treatment regime will run three times a week for eight weeks, summing up 24 sessions of PEMF exposure in total.

Mild-to-moderate Knee OA PEMF Treatment

Placebo treatment DEVICE

Patient will receive a placebo treatment. The involved leg will be exposed to placebo treatment for 30 minutes per session, and the treatment regime will run three times a week for eight weeks, summing up 24 sessions of placebo exposure in total.

Mild-to-moderate Knee OA Placebo Treatment

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 50 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Primary osteoarthritis of knee
• VAS score ≥ 4
• Grade 2 and 3 osteoarthritis (Kellgren-Lawrence criteria)
• No alleviation of symptoms after ≥ 3 months of nonsurgical treatment
• No acute knee injuries in both limbs in the past 3 months
• No muscle strain in both limbs in the past 3 months
• Voluntarily agreed to participate and signed the informed consent form

You may not qualify if:

• Skin diseases around the target knee joint
• Severe pain in other areas affects the diagnosis of function and symptoms of knee joints
• Injection in target knee within 3 months of enrolment
• Inflammatory joint disease (e.g., rheumatic inflammation)
• Infectious joint disease (e.g., septic arthritis)
• Pregnant or breastfeeding
• Patient with a pacemaker, an implantable defibrillator, neurosurgical clips, a neurostimulator, cochlear implant, a stent, an insulin pump
• Physical inability to undertake testing procedures
• Inability to give informed consent

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Chinese University of Hong Kong: lead

Study Sites (1)

Prince of Wales Hospital

Shatin, Hong Kong

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Lau KKL, Chen ASC, Fu CHY, Ng JP, Ong MTY, Yung PSH, Lui PPY. Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy for Mild-to-Moderate Knee Osteoarthritis: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial. J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle. 2026 Feb;17(1):e70199. doi: 10.1002/jcsm.70199.

  PMID: 41588476 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Osteoarthritis, Knee

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Osteoarthritis; Arthritis; Joint Diseases; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Rheumatic Diseases

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: TRIPLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 19, 2022
• First Posted: July 5, 2022
• Study Start: July 5, 2022
• Primary Completion: August 31, 2024
• Study Completion: August 31, 2024
• Last Updated: May 6, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-02

Locations

HK (1)