Evaluating the Effectiveness of Clinical Practice Guideline Adherence for Patellofemoral Pain

Recruiting now · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Patellofemoral Pain

In brief

The overall goal of this multisite, randomized clinical trial is to evaluate the short- and long-term effectiveness of a Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG)-adherent physical therapy approach to patellofemoral pain (PFP) management among military Service members. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Can a CPG-adherent care approach to PFP management improve short- and long-term knee function, pain, and confidence with completing duty-related activities? 2. Can a CPG-adherent care approach to PFP management reduce utilization of healthcare resources and analgesic medication prescription at 12-month follow-up? 3. Are there patient- and care-specific factors that predict or mediate clinical benefit from physical therapy care for PFP? Researchers will compare the CPG-adherent physical therapy intervention to usual physical therapy care in the Military Health System. Participants will: 1) be randomized to receive CPG-adherent care or usual care for PFP management; 2) attend physical therapy corresponding to their group assignment; and 3) complete patient-reported outcome measures at baseline and 6-weeks and 3-, 6-, and 12-months post-randomization.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT06665204

Run by

Sara Gorczynski, PT, DPT

People needed

440

Starts

2025-08-22

Expected to finish

2028-09-29

Last updated by the study team

2026-05-06

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Active-duty Service member
• Aged ≥18 years
• Presence of unilateral or bilateral PFP based on the core criterion of peripatellar and/or retropatellar pain with reproduction of PFP by at least one activity that loads the patellofemoral joint during weight bearing on a flexed knee, such as prolonged sitting, kneeling, squatting, hopping, running, stair climbing, patellar palpation
• Available to participate in physical therapy treatment within 6 weeks of initial enrollment

You may not qualify if…

• Presence of tibiofemoral OA based on imaging evidence in the electronic health records in the past year or self-report
• History of patellar or intra-articular knee trauma (e.g., dislocation/fracture) or surgery
• History of neurodegenerative conditions that may affect movement patterns (e.g., Multiple Sclerosis)
• Meniscal or ligamentous pathologies within the past year based on imaging evidence of acute injury in the electronic health record or self-report
• Quadriceps or patellar tendon injuries within the past year based on imaging evidence of acute injury in the electronic health record or self-report
• Known pregnancy (pregnant females may be eligible for participation after end of pregnancy and medical clearance by a qualified and licensed healthcare provider)
• Receipt of physical therapy care for PFP within the three months prior to enrollment
• Known to be pending medical evaluation board, discharge from the military, scheduled deployment, or litigation for an injury at time of enrollment.

Where it is running

• Naval Medical Center San Diego — San Diego, California, United States (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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