Long-term Effects of the Addition of Diathermy by Emission of Radiofrequency to Therapeutic Exercise in Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome Patients

Non-invasive Radiofrequency Diathermy and Supervised Therapeutic Exercise in Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome. A Single Blind Randomized Controlled Trial With a Six-month Follow-up

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT05471089

Enrollment

Registered

2022-07-22

Start date

2022-07-26

Completion date

2023-02-10

Last updated

2023-02-13

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

Conditions

Patellofemoral Pain, Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome, Patello Femoral Syndrome

Keywords

knee pain, electrophysical agents

Brief summary

Introduction: the management of Patellofemoral Pain (PFP) is focused on therapeutic exercise (TE) to improve muscle strength and motor control. Recent studies suggest that the addition of radiofrequency diathermy (RFD) obtain greater short-term improvements in knee pain than TE alone. As there is no follow up data, the aim of this research is to assess the long-term effects of adding RFD to TE on pain, function and quality of life on PFP patients. Methods: a single-blind randomized controlled trial will be conducted. Participants diagnosed of PFP will be allocated in either a TE group or a RFD+TE one. Sociodemographic data, knee pain, and lower limb function will be collected. Each group will performed 20 min of daily knee and hip supervised TE along three weeks with the addition of ten sessions of RFD for the RFD+TE group.

Interventions

DEVICEDiathermy by emission of Radiofrequency

Applied only to experimental group

OTHERTherapeutic exercise

Applied to both arms/groups

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

TRIPLE (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Masking description

Participants were unaware of the treatment group. Researchers in charge of assessment were blinded. Investigator in charge of data analysis was blinded about treatments. Only care providers known about the different treatments

Intervention model description

Double-blind Randomized Controlled Trial

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

30 Years to 50 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Subjects between 30 and 50 years old without radiological findings of osteoarthritis. * Subjects referring during the last month almost three points of pain in the anterior surface of knee measured with Visual Analogue Scale.

Exclusion criteria

* Subjects with contraindications for the treatment with radiofrequency diathermy (tumors, use of pacemakers or any other implanted electronic device, thrombophlebitis or deep venous thrombosis, pregnancy, fever, active tuberculosis, infections and rheumatoid arthritis). * Subjects who have received corticoid or hyaluronic acid or platelet-rich plasma injections treatment in the knee.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Knee pain	Baseline	Pain measured with Visual Analogue Scale
Knee function	Baseline	Knee function measured with Lower Extremity Functional Scale

Countries

Spain

Outcome results

None listed

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