High-Intensity Laser Acupuncture for Treating Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome

High-Intensity Laser Acupuncture for Treating Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome: Impact on Pain, Function, and Patient Satisfaction

Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is among the most prevalent forms of knee discomfort. The main complaint is typically anterior knee pain, which gets worse while jumping, bending knee, going up or down stairs, or sitting for long periods of time with bent knee. Teens and early adulthood are commonly affected by patellofemoral pain syndrome, with a higher frequency in females. In healthy general populations, the prevalence of patellofemoral pain syndrome is 22.7%, and in teens, it is 28.9%.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: high-intensity laser acupuncture and Exercise therapy program; Other: Sham laser acupuncture

Detailed Description

Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is a common cause of anterior knee pain that limits activities such as stair climbing, squatting, running, and prolonged sitting, leading to reduced function and participation (Crossley et al., 2016; Gaitonde et al., 2019). Exercise therapy is considered a key conservative treatment, especially combined hip and knee exercises, but additional non-invasive modalities may help improve pain relief and recovery (Collins et al., 2018). Laser acupuncture provides non-invasive stimulation of acupuncture points and may offer analgesic and functional benefits without needle insertion. Recent studies suggest that laser acupuncture and high-intensity laser therapy may improve pain and function in patients with PFPS (Ozlu et al., 2024). Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the effect of high-intensity laser acupuncture on pain, knee function, and patient satisfaction in patients with PFPS.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 60
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Doaa A Elimy, lecturer; Phone Number: 00201066474654; Email: do3aayoub25@gmail.com

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome (positive Clarkes sign and Waldron test)
• Age from 18 to 25 years
• Patients suffering from pain which aggravated by prolonged sitting, stair climbing, running, squatting, kneeling, hopping\jumping, overuse activities and relieved by rest for at least 3 months
• Visual analog scale (VAS) greater than 3 points in daily activity
• The ability to participate in the study and follow the treatment schedule.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Physiotherapy in the last 12 months
• Intra-articular injection in the last 3 months
• Other knee disorders such as: (osteoarthritis, previous knee surgery, history of knee arthroplasty, or traumatic injury related joint deformity)
• BMI greater than or equal 30
• Pregnancy
• Pacemaker insertion
• Photosensitivity
• History of using oral analgesic or NSAIDs in the previous 4 weeks,
• History of malignancy, psychiatric disorder, mental retardation, neurologic dysfunction, diabetes mellitus, or uncontrolled hypertension.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: high-intensity laser acupuncture and exercise therapy program.; The patients will receive high-intensity laser acupuncture and exercise therapy program.three times a week for four weeks.	Device: high-intensity laser acupuncture and Exercise therapy program; The experimental group will receive high-intensity lasers and the treatment will be applied at over six points (ST34, ST 35, GB34, EX-LE4, SP9, and SP10) Exercise therapy program consisted of stretching for hamstring, gastrocnemius and iliotibial band, and strengthening exercises, which include isometric quadriceps exercises, straight leg raising, lateral straight leg raise, isometric hip adduction and squat to 30° knee flexion, 3 times /week for 4 weeks; Other Names: high-power laser acupuncture
Sham Comparator: sham laser acupuncture and exercise therapy program.; The patients will receive sham acupuncture laser and exercise therapy program three times a week for four weeks.	Other: Sham laser acupuncture; Sham laser acupuncture and exercise therapy Program. Exercise therapy program consisted of stretching for hamstring, gastrocnemius and iliotibial band, and strengthening exercises, which include isometric quadriceps exercises, straight leg raising, lateral straight leg raise, isometric hip adduction and squat to 30° knee flexion, 3 times /week for 4 weeks

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Pain Intensity	The visual analogue scale represents the pain range that a patient thinks they might experience. The line is typically 10 centimetres long, with or without markings at each centimetre serves as a representation of the range. The worst pain the patient could possibly envision is represented by one end, while; no pain; is represented by the other. The patient marks the scale by drawing a line on it to indicate the amount of discomfort they are experiencing from 0-10. Higher scores represent worse pain.	4 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Function of knee joint	A scale known as Kujala patellofemoral score will be used for assessment of the function of the patellofemoral pain syndrome. The scores of this rating system vary from 100 (a normal, painless, totally functional knee) to 0 (severe pain and dysfunction in the knee). Haddad et al. conducted research on the validity and reliability of the Arabic version of the scale. The greater the scores, the better the results.	4 weeks
patient Satisfaction	The satisfaction VAS will be used to measure patient satisfaction. The patient will be by placing an indicator at 0 to100 milliliters line. Zero usually represents 'no satisfaction at all' whereas the upper limit represents 'the best satisfaction ever'.	4 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Cairo University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): June 20, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 31, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 12, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 12, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): June 17, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): June 17, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 12, 2026
• Last Verified: June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Function; patient satisfaction; Patellofemoral pain syndrome; high-intensity laser acupuncture
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Musculoskeletal Diseases; Joint Diseases; Behavior; Treatment Adherence and Compliance; Health Behavior; Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome; Patient Satisfaction
• Other Study ID Numbers: PT.BU.EC.42

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No