Retraining your gait: a new hope for knee osteoarthritis?
NCT ID NCT04946136
First seen Aug 26, 2026 · Last updated Aug 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This pilot study tests whether a 6-week gait retraining program can reduce the load on the knee joint and improve symptoms in people with knee osteoarthritis. Participants will learn individualized walking modifications using real-time visual feedback on knee load. The study measures changes in knee joint moments during walking and patient-reported pain, stiffness, and function. If successful, this could lead to a non-invasive, non-drug approach to managing knee osteoarthritis.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Individualized gait modifications guided by real-time visual feedback of knee load
- What this could lead to
- If effective, this approach could offer a non-drug, non-surgical way to reduce knee pain and improve function in people with knee osteoarthritis.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small pilot study, so results may not be conclusive or widely applicable. The training requires treadmill walking and may not be comfortable for all participants.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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12 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jan 2021
- Finished
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Dec 2022
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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50 to 70 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * people with radiographic TF OA fulfilling American College of Rheumatology classification criteria * reporting average knee pain on walking \> 3 on an 11-point scale (0-10) in at least one knee * pain or tenderness predominantly located on the medial knee. Exclusion Criteria: * medial TF joint space width greater than lateral * Kellgren/Lawrence (K/L) grade 4 * knee surgery or intra-articular corticosteroid injection in the past 6 months * uncomfortable walking on treadmill for 20 minutes * unable to walk without a walking aide * inflammatory arthritis * other musculoskeletal or neurological disorders that affect gait patterns * currently receiving physical therapy
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Northwestern University
Chicago, Illinois, 60611, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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