Can heat or contrast therapy ease your knee pain? new study finds out
NCT ID NCT07293195
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Aug 28, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This study looked at whether adding heat therapy or contrast therapy (alternating hot and cold) to a specific exercise program helps people with patellofemoral pain syndrome, a common cause of front knee pain. Forty adults aged 18 to 40 with at least three months of knee pain took part. They received supervised sessions of either heat or contrast therapy along with Otago exercises, and researchers measured changes in pain, swelling, knee movement, and daily function.
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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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40 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Dec 2025
- Finished
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May 2026
- 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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18 to 40 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. Patients aged 18-40 years experiencing pain in the front of the knee, including the peripatellar or retropatellar areas. 2. Patient having pain severity a minimum value of 4-7 on the numeric pain rating scale. 3. Participants presenting with anterior knee pain persisting for three months or longer. 4. Pre- diagnosed patients with positive patellar compression and Grind tests. 5. Patients with lateral patellar tracking. Exclusion criteria: 1. Pain having a duration of less than three months or patients with previous knee surgeries. 2. Recent engagement in structured lower-limb exercise or rehabilitation interventions. 3. Patients with pregnancy, malignancy or any neurological dysfunctions.
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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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Ghurki Trust Teaching Hospital
Lahore, Punjab Province, 57000, Pakistan
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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