Using Personalized Rehabilitation to Reduce Disease and Increase Activity of Patients With Polymyalgia Rheumatica

August 4, 2026 updated by: Washington University School of Medicine

Using Personalized Rehabilitation to Reduce Disease and Increase Activity of Patients With Polymyalgia Rheumatica: a Feasibility Randomized Clinical Trial

Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) is a condition that causes joint pain and stiffness, making it hard for people to do everyday tasks. Movement pattern training is a special, personalized rehabilitation program that aims to reduce pain by improving how people move during their daily activities. The investigators plan to test if it's possible to conduct a detailed study to find out how effective Movement pattern training is for people with PMR. The investigators will look at whether it helps them perform activities they want to do, reduce their use of certain medications, and strengthen their muscles. The investigators will also gather feedback from patients about their experience with Movement pattern training. This study will help us understand if carrying out a larger study on Movement pattern training's effectiveness is practical.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
20

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.
  • Name: Marcie Harris-Hayes, DPT, MSCI
  • Phone Number: 314-286-1435
  • Email: harrisma@wustl.edu

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patient reports a diagnosis or flare of polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) < 5 months before the screening contact

  • Diagnosis or flare of PMR according to the European League against Rheumatism/American College of Rheumatology (EULAR/ACR) classification criteria as follows (must satisfy all criteria)10:

    • Age ≥50 years at time of diagnosis
    • Presence of bilateral shoulder pain
    • Elevated acute phase reactants C-reactive protein (CRP) >10 milligram/Liter and/or Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) >30 millimeters/hour*

    • A score ≥4 at the time of diagnosis based on the following (without ultrasound):

      • Duration of morning stiffness >45 minutes: 2 points
      • Hip pain or limited range of motion: 1 point
      • Seronegative for rheumatoid factor and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide: 2 points
      • Absence of other joint involvement: 1 point
  • Initiated pharmacological treatment
  • Able to give informed consent
  • Physician's clearance to participate in physical activity

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosis of fibromyalgia, neuropathic muscular disease, complex regional pain syndrome, or small fiber neuropathy
  • planned major surgical procedure during the study
  • Current active uncontrolled infection

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Usual Care
Patients will be encouraged to complete their treatment as described by their physician.
Other: Usual Care
  • Basic education about polymyalgia rheumatica, benefits of physical activity
  • Patients will be encouraged to participate in physical activity as tolerated
  • Medication as prescribed by their physician
Experimental: Movement Pattern Training (MoveTrain)
Movement pattern Training (MoveTrain) is progressive activity-specific training to improve altered joint motion during patient-specific tasks. At baseline, each patient identifies specific activities (e.g., getting out of bed), work (e.g., reaching overhead), and physical activities (e.g., cycling) that are difficult due to their pain. A movement examination is performed to identify the altered joint motion on associated with movement-evoked pain and the motion modification that reduces their pain. The treatment provider then instructs the patient in activity-specific training, which includes practicing multiple repetitions of the modified activity as their home exercise program. Patients also are instructed to use the trained modified motion during their daily activities to maximize their use in daily routines. This encourages frequent practice and potentially greater program sustainability.
Behavioral: Movement Pattern Training (MoveTrain)

6 individualized treatment sessions over 10 weeks

  • Motivational interviewing to determine personal goals and strengthen motivation and commitment to change
  • Activity-specific training to practice modified motion during patient-specific tasks, defined as activities reported by each patient as pain-provoking
  • Home exercise program 3 times/week consisting of activities or exercises assigned in the supervised sessions
  • Patient's independence and adherence in performing home exercise program will be documented
  • Patients are encouraged to use modified motion during daily and physical activities
  • Based on patient performance, activity difficulty is progressed by increasing repetitions performed or increasing load or speed

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of potential participants accessed.
Time Frame: 7 months
The total number of people with Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) who were recruited each week
7 months
Percent of eligible participants who were willing to be randomized
Time Frame: 7 months
Percent of eligible participants are willing to be randomized during the study
7 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Preliminary estimates of change in polymyalgia rheumatica impact scale (PMR-IS)
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 10 weeks
The change in polymyalgia rheumatica impact scale (PMR-IS), a self-report questionnaire specific to polymyalgia rheumatica, that represents the patients symptoms and functional ability.
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 10 weeks
Preliminary estimates of change in physical activity
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 10 weeks
The change in physical activity as represented by the Stanford 7-DAy Physical Activity Recall survey
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 10 weeks
Preliminary estimates of change in cumulative glucocorticoid dose
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 10 weeks
Change in cumulative glucocorticoid dose assessed by patient's self-report logs
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 10 weeks
Preliminary estimates of change in muscle strength
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 10 weeks
change in muscle strength of the hips and shoulders, assessed using a hand dynamometer
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 10 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Washington University School of Medicine

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
August 15, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
March 31, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
March 31, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
July 24, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 4, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
August 6, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
August 6, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 4, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 202602100

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

This is a feasibility study with only 20 planned participants with limited budget. There is insufficient support for personnel required to prepare the data for sharing purposes.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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