Low-Level Laser Therapy for Osgood-Schlatter or Sever Pain in Youth Athletes

Recruiting now · Not applicable · Has a placebo group

Conditions studied: Osgood-Schlatter Disease, Sever's Disease

In brief

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if low-level laser therapy (also called photobiomodulation) works to treat knee or heel pain in physically active children and adolescents with Osgood-Schlatter disease or Sever disease. It will also learn about the safety of this treatment. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Does low-level laser therapy lower pain more than a sham (placebo) laser treatment? 2. Does low-level laser therapy improve daily and sport-related function more than a sham laser treatment? 3. What medical problems, if any, do participants have during the study? Researchers will compare active low-level laser therapy to a sham (placebo) laser treatment. The sham treatment looks and feels the same but does not deliver therapeutic light. This comparison will show whether the laser therapy works better than placebo. Participants will: * Complete screening and a baseline visit * Be randomly assigned to active laser therapy or sham laser therapy * Receive a series of treatment sessions over \[2 weeks\] * Answer short questionnaires about pain and function at baseline and follow-up visits * Have ultrasound imaging and/or provide blood or urine samples for research measurements Both participants and the study team who assess outcomes will not know which treatment group each participant is in until the study ends.

Key facts

Study ID: NCT07446517
Run by: Medical University of Gdansk
People needed: 30
Starts: 2026-03-01
Expected to finish: 2029-02-01
Last updated by the study team: 2026-08-04

Who can join

Age: 10 and older, up to 17. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

Aged 10 to 17 years
Participates in organized sport with at least 12 months of training history
Has knee pain at the tibial tubercle (Osgood-Schlatter-type pain) and/or heel pain at the back of the heel (Sever-type pain)
Pain is worse with activity and reproduced by pressing on the painful area
Pain intensity is 3 out of 10 or higher on the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) during the clinical visit and in the last week (0 = no pain, 10 = worst pain imaginable)
Symptoms have been present for at least 2 weeks
For heel pain consistent with Sever disease, the heel squeeze test is positive
Ultrasound shows findings consistent with an apophyseal injury at the painful site
Has no signs of acute illness or infection on the assessment day and during the previous 14 days (for example, fever or "flu-like" symptoms)
A parent/guardian provides written informed consent
The participant provides assent (agreement) to take part

You may not qualify if…

Current pain episode started after an acute injury (for example, fall, collision, ankle sprain, or similar trauma)
Prior surgery on the lower limb
Known diagnosis of patellofemoral pain syndrome (pain around/behind the kneecap)
Known patellar instability (recurrent kneecap dislocations or giving way)
Known complex regional pain syndrome
History of lower-limb fracture
Ultrasound shows clinically important abnormalities in the assessed area that are not consistent with the target condition (for example, calcifications or other significant findings)
Known chronic or systemic disease that may affect the musculoskeletal system (for example, inflammatory joint disease or other clinically significant chronic conditions)
Received any of the following in the last 3 months: steroid injection, hydrodilatation, or laser therapy
Used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (for example, ibuprofen, naproxen) within the last 14 days, or currently uses them
Clinically important abnormal blood test results (complete blood count) that may affect safety or data validity
Parent/guardian or participant does not agree to participate, or withdraws consent/assent

Where it is running

Department of Immunobiology and Environment Microbiology, Debinki 7 — Gdansk, Pomeranian, Poland (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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