New running form may ease pain after ACL reconstruction
NCT ID NCT03918681
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tested whether teaching people recovering from ACL reconstruction to run with a forefoot strike and a faster step rate could reduce knee pain and improve function. Ten active-duty soldiers and cadets participated. The approach is non-invasive and focuses on retraining running technique rather than using drugs or surgery.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- gait retraining (changing running foot strike and step rate)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a simple, non-drug way to reduce knee pain and improve running after ACL surgery.
- What could go wrong
- This was a very small, early study that was terminated early, so results may not be reliable or apply to the general public.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
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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10 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Aug 2019
- Finished
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Jan 2020
- Lead sponsor
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A government agency
The lead sponsor is a US federal agency other than the NIH.
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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18 to 50 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.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Able and willing to give informed consent 2. Between 18-50 years of age 3. Active duty Soldier or cadet 4. History of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction in the last 18 months 5. Cleared to return to run by their Department of Defense medical provider (primary care physician, orthopedic surgeon, physical therapist, or athletic trainer) 6. Ability to perform 20 unassisted single leg heel raises bilaterally 7. Ability to perform 10 pain-free, symmetrical, single-leg squats to between 45-60 degrees bilaterally 8. Ability to perform 20 pain-free single leg hops in place bilaterally Exclusion Criteria: 1. Currently on an Army running limiting profile 2. Concomitant Posterior Cruciate Ligament or Lateral Cruciate Ligament injury 3. Concomitant meniscectomy \>50% 4. History of inflammatory arthritis or gout 5. History of ACL injury to either knee 6. History of major lower-extremity joint injury and/or surgery 7. Known pregnancy currently or in the previous 6 months
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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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Keller Army Community Hospital
West Point, New York, 10996, United States
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