Core Stabilization for the Treatment of Anterior Knee Pain

The Effects of a Trunk Strengthening Program on Anterior Knee Pain in an Adolescent Athletic Population: a Randomized Clinical Trial

Status

UNKNOWN

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT02123602

Enrollment

Registered

2014-04-25

Start date

2014-04-30

Completion date

2019-06-30

Last updated

2017-01-24

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome

Keywords

patellofemoral pain syndrome, abdominal muscles

Brief summary

The investigators hypothesize that the use of trunk (core) stabilization exercises early in treatment combined with lower extremity exercises will enhance the outcome over lower extremity exercises alone in the treatment of young athletes with anterior knee pain.

Interventions

OTHERcore stabilization

OTHERlower extremity training only

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

13 Years to 20 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Subjects between 13-20 years of age clinically diagnosed with anterior knee pain. * Pain should be peripatellar and should include at least 3 of the following: 1. experienced during or after activity 2. prolonged sitting 3. with stair climbing or descending 4. squatting 5. kneeling. * The subject should be active for at least 30 minutes per day.

Exclusion criteria

* Previous knee surgery * Signs and symptoms of a specific structural diagnosis not consistent with AKP such as meniscal, ACL, PCL, or collateral ligament tears, pain referral from hip or lumbar spine (determined during examination), traumatic patellar dislocation, an inability to adequately understand or communicate in English.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Lower extremity functional scale	6 weeks	LEFS is a functional scale that estimates how much the subject's function is disrupted by their condition.

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Kujala anterior knee pain scale	6 weeks	The Kujala scale measures the amount and impact of anterior knee pain on the subject's life
Patient specific functional scale	6 weeks	The PSFS rates subject's ability to do the 3 functional activities that are bothered the most by the knee pain
Numeric pain rating scale	6 weeks	The NPRS measures the subject's current knee pain

Other

Measure	Time frame	Description
Global rating of change	6 weeks	The GRoC measures the subject's overall estimation of improvement.
Self-reported percent recovery	6 weeks	The subject reports their estimated overall percentage of improvement from the start of care

Countries

United States

Contacts

Primary ContactKen Learman, PhD, PT

klearman@ysu.edu330.941.7125

Backup ContactMichael Morris, DPT

mjmorris107@yahoo.com330.707.9064

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026