Kneecap arthritis study - Melbourne

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 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, also experience improvement in pain and leg function with footwear or foot orthoses treatments.  

What is involved?

Forty 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. MRIs may also be taken at the beginning of the study, and at 4 months to determine if there is any improvement in bone marrow lesions - a feature commonly associated with knee arthritis.

What treatments are being evaluated?

All participants in the 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)

You would need to attend the research laboratory in the La Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre at the Bundoora campus of Latrobe University on up to 3 occasions. Initial testing takes a maximum of 2 hours with followup visits a maximum of 1 hour duration. You would also need to attend a private radiology practice for a free x-ray of your knee in addition to MRIs at the beginning and completion of the study (at 4 months). The questionnaires that need to be completed at the beginning, at the 2 month mark and at the end of the study (4 months) 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