Evaluation of TENEX for Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome (GTPS) (RCT GTPS)

May 5, 2026 updated by: Montefiore Medical Center

Evaluation of Percutaneous Tenotomy of the Gluteus Medius and Iliotibial Band for Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome (GTPS): A Randomized Clinical Trial

The objective of this study is to evaluate how an ultrasound-guided percutaneous procedure, TENEX, can help people with chronic hip pain resulting from a condition called Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome (GTPS) and to characterize the efficacy of percutaneous tenotomy (PUT) using TENEX®, a device used for the treatment of various tendinopathies. In this study an ultrasound (US) is performed to guide the partial release of gluteus medius and minimus and Iliotibial band tendons in patients diagnosed with refractory Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome (GTPS) vs control. The investigator team hypothesizes that the new TENEX can improve the pain level for individuals with GTPS to help those individuals perform their activities of daily living (ADLs), e.g., walking, standing, and side-lying, as well as demonstrate less medication utilization. The study predicts that this percutaneous outpatient procedure can decrease pain, increase mobility, and decrease medication utilization.

The study team hypothesizes that PUT can improve the pain level and function for individuals suffering with GTPS. The study will assess walking, standing, and side-lying tolerance, as well as medication utilization. The investigator team predicts that this percutaneous outpatient procedure can decrease pain and medication utilization while increasing mobility.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Greater trochanteric pain syndrome (GTPS) is one of the most common causes of lateral hip pain in adults. GTPS is repetitive overload tendinopathy of the gluteus medius (GMed) and Iliotibial band (ITB), which play a primary role in hip abduction and pelvic stabilization in walking, stair climbing, running and standing on one leg. It is thought that the core pathology is greater trochanteric bursitis (TB) with or without coexisting gluteal tendinopathy. Some common etiologies include prolonged excessive pressure to the area, injury to the side of the hip, and repetitive movements; however, local steroid injections to the greater TB are not often successful over the long-term. The best estimates of prevalence are from a large, community-based study with over 3000 adults aged 50 to 70 years, in which unilateral GTPS was present in 15 percent of women and 6.6 percent of men. Patients who have not improved after at least 12 months of conservative medical management (CMM), including physical therapy, oral medications, or a local steroid injection have no other conservative treatment recourse. Open surgery for GMed or ITB tears is not recommended unless a tear is diagnosed on MRI. Based on a published study, a 60% improvement was shown in pain with the performance of TENEX of the GMed.

The purpose of this project is to study the outcome of GMed and ITB PUT on CMM refractory GTPS. We want to quantify and show the scales of the pain in pre-operative and post-treatment cases. We also want to see how effective the surgery is in specific terms of pain levels because GTPS is a pain syndrome and reduction in pain level is the most important clinical factor.

Patient Reported Outcome Measure (PROM) is one of the main outcomes that medical research is validated with and through this study we want to show the most important outcome of GTPS i.e., pain level (PROM for GTPS). Previous studies which focused on surgical outcomes have been mostly single-center trials.

Pain and mobility impact patients' Quality of Life (QoL) and medical cost burden due to unemployment, psychosocial well-being, and functional dependence. The standard of care offered to address the pain and mobility needs of those with GTPS is to provide CMM, followed by open or arthroscopic surgery if surgery is indicated. However, there is a treatment gap for those patients who have failed CMM and are not surgical candidates. The authors submit that TENEX of the GMed and ITB may address this gap. The results from this research may have broad impacts on the treatment algorithm for patients with GTPS.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

150

Phase

  • 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 Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • The Bronx, New York, United States, 10461
        • Recruiting
        • Montefiore Medical Center
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Sayed E. Wahezi, MD
        • Contact:

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 90 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Aged 18-90
  • People with GTPS of all different levels and etiologies confirmed with MRI or CT scan
  • Ability to give informed consent forms independently
  • Failed conservative medical treatment for at least 6 months

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Significant mobility restrictions; people using wheelchairs
  • Pregnancy
  • Previous surgery to the GMed or ITB

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control
Standard of care
Experimental: Treatment
TENEX device will be used
Device: TENEX
Use of TENEX device for sectioning of the gluteus medius and ITB tendons.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Pain Level
Time Frame: Baseline (before treatment), 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years
The difference in pain levels in patients before and after the procedure. Pain levels (NRS scale) recorded in the pre-operative visit will be compared to the pain levels at follow-up (FU) visits. The Numeric rating scale (NRS) is a pain screening tool used to assess pain severity using a 0-10 scale, with 0 meaning no pain and 10 meaning the worst pain imaginable. Pain level scores will be summarized by study arm. Achievement of 50% reduction in pain level from baseline at 6 months post treatment will be considered successful.
Baseline (before treatment), 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Quality of Life using the European Quality of Life 5 Dimensions 5 Level Version (EQ-5D-5L)
Time Frame: Baseline (before treatment), 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years
A comparative analysis between TENEX to conventional medical treatments will be conducted using the EQ-5D-5L. Walking, side-lying, sit-to-stand transfers, and medication utilization will be assessed. The EQ-5D-5L is a descriptive system which comprises five dimensions: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression. Each dimension has 5 levels: no problems, slight problems, moderate problems, severe problems and extreme problems. The patient is asked to indicate his/her health state by ticking the box next to the most appropriate statement in each of the five dimensions. This decision results in a 1- digit number that expresses the level selected for that dimension. The digits for the five dimensions are combined into a five-digit number that describes the patient's health state. Results will be summarized by study arm.
Baseline (before treatment), 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Montefiore Medical Center

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Sayed E. Wahezi, MD, Montefiore Medical Center

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 (Actual)

March 11, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 24, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 1, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

February 2, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 8, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 5, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2022-14588

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

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.

Subscribe