Telerehabilitation for Patellofemoral Pain

April 25, 2026 updated by: wanghaonan, Beijing Sport University

Telerehabilitation Versus Face-to-Face Supervised Rehabilitation for Patellofemoral Pain: A Randomized Non-Inferiority Trial

Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is a common musculoskeletal condition characterized by pain around or behind the patella during activities such as stair ambulation, squatting, running, jumping, and prolonged sitting. Exercise therapy combined with patient education is considered first-line treatment, and supervised rehabilitation is commonly used to improve adherence and clinical outcomes.

Telerehabilitation may increase accessibility and reduce time and travel burden, but high-quality evidence remains limited regarding whether telerehabilitation provides outcomes that are not inferior to conventional face-to-face supervised rehabilitation in individuals with PFP.

This study is a randomized, assessor-blinded, non-inferiority trial designed to compare telerehabilitation with face-to-face supervised rehabilitation in individuals with patellofemoral pain. The trial will evaluate whether telerehabilitation is not inferior to face-to-face supervised rehabilitation in improving pain and knee-related function, while also examining psychological outcomes, self-satisfaction, and adherence.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

106

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

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

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

  • Inclusion Criteria

    • Aged 18 to 45 years
    • Clinical diagnosis of patellofemoral pain
    • History of anterior or retropatellar knee pain for at least 3 months
    • Pain provoked by at least two of the following activities: stair ambulation, squatting, running, jumping, or prolonged sitting
    • Baseline knee pain intensity of at least 3/10 on the Numerical Rating Pain Scale
    • Willing and able to participate in the rehabilitation program and follow-up assessments
    • Able to provide written informed consent

  • Exclusion Criteria

    • Previous knee surgery
    • History of patellar dislocation or instability
    • Evidence of ligament injury, meniscal injury requiring separate management, moderate to severe knee osteoarthritis, or other major structural knee pathology
    • Concurrent hip, ankle, lumbar spine, or other musculoskeletal disorders substantially affecting lower limb function
    • Neurological disorders affecting movement or balance
    • Severe cardiopulmonary or systemic disease contraindicating exercise
    • Received structured lower limb rehabilitation within the previous 3 months
    • Pregnancy
    • Any other condition judged by the investigators to make participation unsuitable

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: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Telerehabilitation Group
A 6-week remotely supervised rehabilitation program including education, progressive exercise therapy, and regular therapist-guided follow-up delivered through digital communication platforms.
Behavioral: Telerehabilitation
A 6-week remotely supervised rehabilitation program including education, progressive exercise therapy, and regular therapist-guided follow-up delivered through digital communication platforms.
Active Comparator: Face-to-Face Group
A 6-week in-person supervised rehabilitation program including education, progressive exercise therapy, and regular therapist-guided follow-up.
Behavioral: Face-to-Face Rehabilitation
A 6-week in-person supervised rehabilitation program including education, progressive exercise therapy, and regular therapist-guided follow-up.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Anterior Knee Pain Scale
Time Frame: Baseline; 6 weeks; 18 weeks
Baseline; 6 weeks; 18 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia
Time Frame: Baseline; 6 weeks; 18 weeks
Baseline; 6 weeks; 18 weeks
Pain Catastrophizing Scale
Time Frame: Baseline; 6 weeks; 18 weeks
Baseline; 6 weeks; 18 weeks
Numerical Rating Pain Scale
Time Frame: Baseline; 6 weeks; 18 weeks
Baseline; 6 weeks; 18 weeks
The Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score
Time Frame: Baseline; 6 weeks; 18 weeks
Baseline; 6 weeks; 18 weeks
EQ-5D-5L
Time Frame: Baseline; 6 weeks; 18 weeks
Baseline; 6 weeks; 18 weeks
Muscle strength
Time Frame: Baseline; 6 weeks
Muscle strength was evaluated by maximal contractions using an isokinetic test system. During the test, they were asked to perform five constant flexion and extension motions at their maximum effort using a concentric-concentric contractions model. Knee muscle strength was recorded by peak torque (Nm).
Baseline; 6 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Beijing Sport University

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)

May 20, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 20, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

March 20, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 17, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 25, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

April 29, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 29, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 25, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 092H

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

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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