Kneecap arthritis study

DO YOU HAVE PAIN IN THE FRONT OF YOUR KNEE?

Why is this study being conducted?

Kneecap arthritis is one of the most common types of knee arthritis. It causes pain and stiffness in the knee particularly with activities such as walking up and down stairs, and with squatting.

However, we know little about the features of this disease or what treatments may be effective. In younger people with kneecap pain, foot and ankle structure and muscle activity during a variety of tasks are different compared to people of the same age without kneecap pain. In this group, using foot orthoses improved the function of the legs and reduced kneecap pain.

Thus this study will aim to determine if people over 40 with kneecap pain, and x-ray evidence of kneecap arthritis, have different foot and ankle structure, and muscle function to people of a similar age who have no injuries of their lower limb. This study will also evaluate whether footwear or foot orthoses can also improve pain and leg function in those who have kneecap arthritis.  

What is involved?

For the first study, 40 people who have pain in the kneecap region, and 30 people with no lower limb injuries will recruited from the general population. An x-ray of the knee will be needed to confirm the presence of kneecap arthritis in those with kneecap pain.  Thus the first part of this study aims to compare the differences in structure of the legs and feet in people who have kneecap pain and arthritis to those, of a similar age, who have no pain.  Muscle patterns of the legs when stepping up and down stairs will also be compared.

For the second study, the 40 people with kneecap arthritis will be randomly allocated to either a footwear only, or footwear + foot orthoses group. The effectiveness of these two interventions will be compared from baseline at 2 and 4 months by a series of questionnaires that will measure the improvement in kneecap pain and leg function. 

What treatments are being evaluated?

All participants in the second study will receive New Balance stability shoes with special features designed to reduce the collapse of the feet and knees. 

Participants in the foot orthoses group will receive a pair of custom made foot orthoses to wear in the New Balance shoe for the duration of the study.


Participants must be willing to wear the footwear, or footwear + foot orthoses as much as possible (around 8 hours a day) for the duration of the study

Would you like to be involved?

To be involved in our study, you will need to meet our eligibility criteria.

To be included in the kneecap arthritis group, you must have:

• pain in the front of your knee joint present on most days of the last month
• have x-ray evidence of arthritis in the kneecap (we provide this x-ray if you don't have a current one of your knee)

To be included in the no arthritis group, you must have:

• no pain in the front of the knee with any activity

You would need to attend the research laboratory in the School of Biomedical Sciences at the St Lucia campus of the University of Queensland. 

            If you are a healthy control participant with no knee pain, then you would only need to attend the research laboratory on one occasion.  If you have kneecap arthritis, then you would need to attend the research laboratory on up to 3 occasions. Testing takes a maximum of 2.5 hours. You would also need to attend a private radiology practice for a free x-ray of your knee. The questionnaires can be completed online or hard copy if you prefer.

         

            If you think you may be eligible and are interested in taking part in our study, please contact our research team via email on n.wyndow@uq.edu.au