Gait Retraining for Runners with Knee Osteoarthritis

NCT ID: NCT03314428

Last Updated: 2024-12-05

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

NOT_YET_RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

18 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2025-07-01

Study Completion Date

2026-07-31

Brief Summary

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Tibiofemoral osteoarthritis (TFOA) is highly prevalent in older adults, and often causes symptoms and functional limitations. Physical activity is widely advocated in people with TFOA, and running is an easy and accessible activity that provides many benefits on general health. However, running induces high knee loads, which could potentially contribute to symptoms of runners with TFOA. Previous studies have suggested that running gait modifications can help in decreasing symptoms and knee loading in runners with knee conditions. Yet, no study has been conducted in runners with TFOA. This intervention study will investigate the effects of a 4-week running gait retraining program on symptoms and running biomechanics in runners with TFOA. We hypothesize that running modifications will decrease symptoms, improve function and reduce knee loading.

Detailed Description

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Conditions

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Osteoarthritis, Knee

Study Design

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Allocation Method

NA

Intervention Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Single Group cohort study
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Data will be analyzed by an assessor blinded to date of data collection for each testing session. Following data collection, a researcher not involved with data collection or analysis will re-code data timepoints to ensure that the assessor is unaware of the timepoint each datapoint was obtained.

Study Groups

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Gait retraining

Runners will be taught how to modify their running gait through multiple laboratory sessions and in-field training.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Gait retraining

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Over a 4-week period, runners will be asked to increase their step rate to reduce knee loading during running. Specifically, they will have to increase their preferred step rate by 10% during weekly laboratory running sessions as well as during habitual running training. In the laboratory, runners will be provided with live visual/auditory biofeedback on step rate and asked to target a specific value representing 110% or preferred step rate. During their individual running sessions, runners will be wearing a GPS-enabled watch that will provide feedback on live step rate, and they will be asked to maintain the same value as in the laboratory.

Interventions

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Gait retraining

Over a 4-week period, runners will be asked to increase their step rate to reduce knee loading during running. Specifically, they will have to increase their preferred step rate by 10% during weekly laboratory running sessions as well as during habitual running training. In the laboratory, runners will be provided with live visual/auditory biofeedback on step rate and asked to target a specific value representing 110% or preferred step rate. During their individual running sessions, runners will be wearing a GPS-enabled watch that will provide feedback on live step rate, and they will be asked to maintain the same value as in the laboratory.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* TFOA of Grade 2 (mild) or 3 (moderate) on the Kellgren and Lawrence scale
* report knee pain greater than or equal to 3/10 on a numerical pain rating scale (0-10) during most days of the previous month
* run at least 10 km per week for a minimum of 6 months
* declare being comfortable running on a treadmill for at least 30 minutes

Exclusion Criteria

* history of traumatic knee injury
* neurological or inflammatory arthritic condition
* cardiovascular or cardiopulmonary disease preventing from safely performing moderate intensity running
* presence of any lower limb condition affecting running (other than TFOA)
* use of any oral or injected corticosteroids or viscosupplementation in the previous six months
* regular use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, analgesics or knee unloading bracing devices before, during or after running
* non-English speaking
Minimum Eligible Age

40 Years

Eligible Sex

FEMALE

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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University of British Columbia

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Michael Hunt

Associate Professor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Michael A Hunt, PT, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of British Columbia

Locations

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Robert H.N. Ho Research Centre

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Site Status

Countries

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Canada

Central Contacts

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Jean-Francois Esculier, PT, PhD

Role: CONTACT

Phone: 604-822-7948

Email: [email protected]

Michael A Hunt, PT, PhD

Role: CONTACT

Phone: 604-822-7948

Email: [email protected]

Facility Contacts

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Danmei Liu, PhD

Role: primary

Other Identifiers

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H17-01228

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id