Can watching your own leg reflex teach the brain to turn down knee arthritis pain?
NCT ID NCT07832682
First seen Sep 22, 2026 · Last updated Sep 23, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
Researchers at Northeastern University are testing a neurofeedback training method for people with knee osteoarthritis. The training shows participants their own protective leg reflex on a screen in real time, with the goal of teaching them to reduce a reflex that is often overactive when the nervous system becomes more sensitive to pain. The study compares real neurofeedback with a placebo version in about 50 adults aged 45 and older. Participants attend one measurement visit and six training visits over several weeks, and researchers track safety, how many sessions people complete, and whether the training is acceptable.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Neurofeedback training that shows people their own leg reflex in real time so they can learn to change it
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a drug-free way to turn down pain sensitization in knee osteoarthritis and point to similar training for other chronic pain conditions.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early, small feasibility study of 50 people, so it may show the training is safe and doable without proving it eases pain. The reflex changes may not translate into real symptom relief, and the sham comparison could show no difference.
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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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About 50 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Oct 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Jul 2031
An estimate. End dates often move.
- 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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45 years and older
- 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: * Age 45 years or older * Symptomatic knee osteoarthritis meeting the clinical definition in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines: knee pain for more than 3 months and morning stiffness lasting less than 30 minutes * Able to speak and understand English * Able to attend all study visits at the study site in Boston, MA Exclusion Criteria: Stimulation safety * Pacemaker, implanted defibrillator, or other implanted electronic device * Metal implants in the head * Implants in the lower limb, including prior knee arthroplasty * History of seizures or epilepsy * Prior adverse reaction to transcranial magnetic stimulation * Frequent or severe headaches * Suspected or diagnosed cardiac disease * Pregnancy (self-reported) Neurological, psychiatric, and medical * Neurological disease, including multiple sclerosis * Currently active major depressive disorder, defined as a current clinical diagnosis of major depressive disorder or ongoing treatment for depression; a prior history that is neither active nor treated is not exclusionary * Insulin-dependent diabetes * Raynaud's phenomenon, cold urticaria, or other cold-induced reaction * Large ischaemic scars Pain and musculoskeletal * Lower extremity pain other than knee osteoarthritis Skin and sensation at stimulation sites * Altered skin sensation of the thigh * Swollen, infected, inflamed, or damaged skin of the thigh Substances * Use of medication known to alter pain perception or cortical excitability, including opioids, gabapentinoids, antidepressants (SSRIs, SNRIs, tricyclics), benzodiazepines, anti-seizure medications, muscle relaxants, prescription sleep medications, and cannabis or cannabinoids * Use of alcohol or recreational drugs within 12 hours before a study visit Radiographic confirmation is not required, consistent with current clinical recommendations for knee osteoarthritis diagnosis. Commonly used medications that do not alter pain perception or cortical excitability are permitted and recorded as covariates.
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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.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
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