Cast vs. couch: which gets teens with knee pain back in the game?
NCT ID NCT02824172
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study looked at two treatments for Osgood-Schlatter disease, a common cause of knee pain in growing teens who play sports. One group wore a leg cast for 4 weeks followed by physical therapy, while the other group stopped all sports for 8 weeks and did physical therapy. The goal was to see which approach helped more kids return to their sport within 12 weeks. The trial included 72 boys and girls aged 9 to 15.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- leg cast immobilization
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could show that a short period in a leg cast helps teenagers with Osgood-Schlatter disease return to sports faster than just resting from sports.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, completed study with only 72 participants. The results may not apply to all teens, and the cast can be inconvenient or uncomfortable.
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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72 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Sep 2015
- Finished
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Dec 2016
- 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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9 to 15 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: * Boys and girls * From 9 to 15 years old * Coming to consult in the Sports' medicine ward * Patients diagnosed with Osgood-Schlatter disease defined by a swelling of the anterior tibial tuberosity (ATT) , pain on palpation of the ATT , pain with passive knee flexion , pain thwarted knee extension and soft rays in profile knee radiography according to the classification of Woolfrey and Chandler (types A -C * Unilateral or bilateral * Previously treated or not * Agreed to participate * Agreement of the parents to participate * Affiliation to national security Exclusion Criteria: * Contraindication to the set-up of vascular access in femoral position (femoral Scarpa wound, aortic dissection) * Local infection * Hypothermia \<32°C * Need for implementation of arterial catheter only * Need for implementation of venous catheter only
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Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
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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Department of Sport's medicine, Hospital Edouard Herriot- Hospices Civils de Lyon, 5 Place d'Arsonval
Lyon, 69003, France
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