Investigation of the Effectiveness of Myofascial Release Techniques Applied to the Popliteus Muscle in Individuals With Knee Pain.

March 15, 2026 updated by: Aysegul Kutsal, Istanbul Rumeli University
This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of popliteus muscle-targeted myofascial release techniques (MFR) when added to conventional physical therapy and rehabilitation (PTR) and exercise protocols in patients with knee pain.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of popliteus muscle-targeted myofascial release techniques (MFR) when added to conventional physical therapy and rehabilitation (PTR) and exercise protocols in patients with knee pain. Sixty patients presenting with knee pain were assessed according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, and 45 eligible participants were enrolled. Participants were allocated into two groups: the popliteus group (23) and the control group (22). Assessments were performed before treatment and after treatment. Both groups received a standard PTR program consisting of heat therapy (20 min), transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) (20 min), therapeutic ultrasound (US) (4 min), and exercises, administered 5 days per week for a total of 10 sessions. In addition, popliteus muscle-targeted MFR techniques were applied to the popliteus group. Outcome measures included pain (visual analog scale, VAS), functional status (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index, WOMAC), quality of life (Short Form-12 Health Survey, SF-12), range of motion (ROM), limb circumference measurement, and balance tests (single-leg stance test, SLST).

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

45

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 Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
      • Istanbul, Turkey (Türkiye)
        • İstanbul Fatih Sultan Mehmet Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastahanesi

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Being between 18-70 years of age
  • Being able to communicate in Turkish
  • Being literate
  • Having a diagnosis of non-specific knee pain, Patellafemoral pain syndrome, or Knee Osteoarthritis
  • Volunteering to participate in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Having undergone surgery on the knee joint
  • Having a diagnosis of inflammatory rheumatism
  • Having a significant clinical infection
  • Having a fracture in the bones forming the knee joint
  • Having received cortisol treatment within the last 6 months
  • Having a disease that prevents the patient from lying prone
  • Having a history of deep vein thrombosis
  • Having severe varicose vein disease
  • Being an active cancer patient

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: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Popliteus
Myofascial Release Techniques Applied to the Popliteus Muscle
Other: Myofascial Release
Classical Myofascial Release
No Intervention: Kontrol Grubu
Myofascial Release uygulanmadı

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Myofascial Release Techniques AppliMeasurement of quality of life in individuals with knee pain following myofascial release techniques applied to the popliteus muscle.
Time Frame: 5 days 10 sessions
Measurement of quality of life in individuals with knee pain following myofascial release techniques applied to the popliteus muscle. The SF-12 scale was used as the measurement. Patella circumference measurements were also taken.
5 days 10 sessions

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Istanbul Rumeli University

Investigators

  • Study Director: Ali CIMBIZ, Istanbul Rumeli Universitesi

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)

October 1, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

January 2, 2026

Study Completion (Actual)

January 2, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 29, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 11, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

March 16, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 17, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 15, 2026

Last Verified

March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • IRU-FTR-AK-01

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • SAP

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.

Clinical Trials on Knee Pain Chronic

Clinical Trials on Myofascial Release

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Kyrgyzstan

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Subscribe