Kneecap Arthritis
What is the purpose of the study?
Osteoarthritis (OA) commonly affects the kneecap. It results in considerable pain and difficulty with daily activities and currently, there are no established treatments for the condition. Physiotherapy treatments are used to reduce the symptoms of pain and decreased physical function. However, there are no studies confirming these potential benefits.
In this project we will investigate:
- Which physiotherapy treatments reduce pain and improve physical function in people with kneecap OA?
- If there is a relationship between load on the kneecap, pain and biomechanical factors (eg muscle strength, your walking patterns etc) in people with kneecap OA?
- If there is an immediate effect of simple physiotherapy treatments on load, pain and biomechanical factors in people with kneecap OA?
Who can participate?
You can participate in the study if you:
- Are aged more than 40 years
- Have OA in the kneecap
- Have pain behind or around your kneecap that is aggravated by walking up or down stairs, rising from sitting or squatting
You are not eligible if you:
- Have current pain from other knee, hip or back conditions
- Have had a hip or knee replacement
- Are planning knee surgery
- Are unable to walk without help
- Have had physiotherapy treatment in the past year
- Have had knee injections in the past 3 months
- Have an allergy to adhesive tape
- Cannot understand written and spoken English
As you will be required to have X-rays, you may not participate if you are pregnant, or if you are breastfeeding.
Furthermore, you may be asked to have a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, therefore you cannot have the MRI if you have a pacemaker, have a history of metallic foreign body in the eye, have had previous surgery for a cerebral aneurysm, or if you have any other implanted metal material.
What will you have to do?
- Attend the Royal Children's Hospital for X-Ray and MRI of your knee at no cost to you
- Attend the University of Melbourne for an examination of your knee
- Undergo clinical testing of your strength, muscle co-ordination and motion analysis, and answer some questions
- You will wear shorts and a t-shirt during the assessments
- Each session could take up to 3 hours, so it is best to make sure you have at least half a day available for each visit.
What does treatment involve?
- Eight, one-on-one physiotherapy sessions over 12 weeks, with a local physiotherapist at no cost to you.
- After treatments have finished, a follow-up assessment at the University of Melbourne
What to do next?
If you would like to participate in this project, or to find out more details, please give us a call or send us an email.
Project outline
Will my details be kept confidential?
No findings that could identify you will be published and access to individual results is restricted to the investigators only. All data and results will be handled in a strictly confidential manner. This project is subject to the requirements of the Human Research Ethics Committee of the University of Melbourne.