Effects of Hip and Ankle Mobility Rehabilitation in Male Collegiate Athletes With Patellofemoral Pain

NCT07542236 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: XAIPE-PFP-2025-01
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 48
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study evaluates whether a 6-week hip- and ankle-mobility-based rehabilitation program can improve pain, knee-related function, neuromuscular coordination, and physical performance in male soccer players with patellofemoral pain. Patellofemoral pain is a common condition in soccer players and may affect training tolerance, movement control, and sports performance. In this randomized controlled trial, participants are assigned to either an intervention group receiving hip- and ankle-mobility-based rehabilitation in addition to regular soccer training or a control group continuing regular soccer training alone. The rehabilitation program is performed 3 times per week for 6 weeks. Main outcomes include pain intensity and knee-related function. Additional outcomes include hip and ankle range of motion, vastus medialis-vastus lateralis onset timing, Y-Balance Test performance, and countermovement jump height. This study aims to determine whether improving proximal and distal joint mobility can contribute to better clinical and functional recovery in soccer players with patellofemoral pain.

Conditions

Patellofemoral Pain

Keywords

Soccer; Patellofemoral pain; Rehabilitation; Hip mobility; Ankle mobility

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Pain intensity assessed by Visual Analog Scale (VAS)

  Average anterior knee pain related to patellofemoral pain assessed using a 10-cm visual analog scale. Higher scores indicate greater pain intensity.

  Baseline and 6 weeks

• Knee-related function assessed by Kujala score

  Knee-related function assessed using the Kujala Anterior Knee Pain Scale. Higher scores indicate better knee-related function.

  Baseline and 6 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (6)

• Hip internal rotation range of motion

  Baseline and 6 weeks

• Hip external rotation range of motion

  Baseline and 6 weeks

• Weight-bearing ankle dorsiflexion assessed by weight-bearing lunge test

  Baseline and 6 weeks

• Vastus medialis-vastus lateralis onset timing

  Baseline and 6 weeks

• Y-Balance Test composite score

  Baseline and 6 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Hip- and Ankle-Mobility-Based Rehabilitation

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive a 6-week hip- and ankle-mobility-based rehabilitation program, performed 3 times per week for approximately 30 minutes per session, in addition to regular soccer training.

Behavioral: Hip- and Ankle-Mobility-Based Rehabilitation Program

Control

NO INTERVENTION

Participants continue regular soccer training during the same 6-week period and do not receive any additional structured hip or ankle mobility intervention.

Interventions

Hip- and Ankle-Mobility-Based Rehabilitation Program BEHAVIORAL

A 6-week rehabilitation program performed 3 times per week for approximately 30 minutes per session. The program includes standardized warm-up, hip mobility training, ankle mobility training, and integrated movement exercises designed to improve hip internal and external rotation mobility, ankle dorsiflexion, and lower-limb movement control in soccer players with patellofemoral pain.

Hip- and Ankle-Mobility-Based Rehabilitation

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 25 Years
• Sex: male
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Male soccer players aged 18 to 25 years At least 3 years of systematic soccer training experience Currently participating in organized soccer training at least 3 times per week Peripatellar or retropatellar pain consistent with patellofemoral pain Pain provoked during at least one load-bearing knee-flexion activity, including squatting, stair ambulation, running, jumping, or prolonged sitting Patellofemoral pain reproducible during squatting Symptom duration of at least 4 weeks Able to complete all testing and intervention procedures

You may not qualify if:

• History of knee surgery or major lower-limb surgery Acute lower-limb injury within the previous 6 months Other diagnoses that could explain anterior knee pain, including ligament injury, meniscal injury, patellar instability, osteoarthritis, or other tibiofemoral pathology Neurological or systemic disease affecting exercise performance Current participation in other structured lower-limb rehabilitation interventions

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Beijing Sport University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Xi'an Physical Education University

Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710068, China

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome

Interventions

Papaverine

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Joint Diseases; Musculoskeletal Diseases

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Benzylisoquinolines; Alkaloids; Heterocyclic Compounds; Opiate Alkaloids; Isoquinolines; Heterocyclic Compounds, 2-Ring; Heterocyclic Compounds, Fused-Ring

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: Outcome assessors were blinded to group assignment throughout the study. Due to the nature of the rehabilitation intervention, participants and rehabilitation personnel were not blinded.
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Graduate Student

Model Details: Participants are randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either an intervention group receiving a 6-week hip- and ankle-mobility-based rehabilitation program in addition to regular soccer training or a control group continuing regular soccer training alone.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 14, 2026
• First Posted: April 21, 2026
• Study Start: January 15, 2026
• Primary Completion: March 2, 2026
• Study Completion: March 4, 2026
• Last Updated: April 30, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CN (1)