ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT05177549FLEXUpdated May 26, 2026

Evaluation of Anterior Tibial Translation of the Knee in Healthy Women, at Two Times of the Menstrual Cycle, on Hormonal Contraceptives or Not (FLEX)

An interventional study of Bilateral knee examination with Lachmeter® in Ligament; Laxity, sponsored by Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice. Completed at 1 site in France. Open to female participants aged 18 Years to 40 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-05-26.

Sponsored by Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
45
Allocation
Non-randomized
Ages
18 Years to 40 Years
Sex
Female
01

Study summary

Women's participation in sports at all levels has been increasing in recent decades. Many individual and team sports are at risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. This injury leads to a permanent or long-lasting interruption of sports practice and to significant medical and economic expenses. Women are recognized as being more at risk of anterior cruciate ligament injury with a risk 6 times higher than men. Hyperlaxity is a risk factor for anterior cruciate ligament injury, but the pathophysiological bases are little studied. Hormonal impregnation and certain periods of the menstrual cycle (ovulatory phase) are risk factors for anterior cruciate ligament injury. It therefore seems interesting to investigators to study the influence of hormonal impregnation on ligament laxity. To date no study has investigated such a relationship.

02

Conditions studied

  • Ligament; Laxity

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Keywords

  • hormonal impregnation
03

In context

Joint Instability

115 studies on the registry are indexed under Joint Instability; 21 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 45 is close to the median of 46 across 58 interventional studies indexed under Joint Instability.

Browse Joint Instability studies →

Lead sponsor

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice is the lead sponsor of 723 studies on the registry; 176 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 40 Years
Sexes eligible
Female
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Woman between 18 and 40 years old
  • No history of surgery of the 2 lower limbs
  • No change in method in the last 6 months
  • Signature of the
  • Affiliation to the social security system
  • To be at Day 14 of her menstrual cycle (+/-1 day) (the first day of the cycle (Day1) being considered as the first day of the menstrual period), except for those on micro-progestative contraception not regulated

By inclusion group:

- For women without hormonal contraception: No method of contraception Or a copper intrauterine device Regular cycles of 26 to 33 days

- For women on estrogen-progestin contraception: Correct use of the estrogen-progestin pill according to the MA Or wearing a vaginal ring according to the MA protocol Or wearing a contraceptive skin patch according to the MA protocol Regular cycles of 26 to 33 days

- For women on micro-progestin contraception : Continuous use of the micro-progestogen pill Or wearing a subcutaneous hormonal implant,

Exception: women on micro-progestin contraception who are not regulated:

  • They may have an irregular cycle or no cycle to be included
  • They can be included on any day if they have no cycle

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pregnancy or breastfeeding in progress
  • Hormonal intrauterine device or injectable
  • Menopause (defined as no menstruation for one year)
  • Surgery: tubal ligation, oophorectomy, adnexectomy, hysterectomy
  • History of microcrystalline or infectious pathology localized to the knee
  • History of systemic or localized inflammatory joint disease of the knee
  • History of fracture, severe sprain or dislocation of the knee joint
  • History of osteoarticular or congenital diseases that may lead to laxity (Marfan syndrome, trisomy 21, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome...)
  • Sign of hyperlaxity evaluated by a Beighton score higher than 4 (see appendix)
  • > 25
  • Daily alcohol consumption above the thresholds recommended by Public Health in France (more than 2 glasses per day)
  • Woman unable to understand the protocol
  • Intense or unusual physical exercise during the last 72 hours (e.g.: marathon, triathlon, competitive cycling race...)
  • Woman under guardianship, curatorship or deprived of liberty
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(3)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Contraception

Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.

Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

BMI (body mass index)

Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.

What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Prevention
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
45 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    on estrogen-progestin contraception

    Other: Bilateral knee examination with Lachmeter®

  • Experimental
    under micro-progestational contraception

    Other: Bilateral knee examination with Lachmeter®

  • Experimental
    without hormonal contraception

    Other: Bilateral knee examination with Lachmeter®

Interventions

  • OtherBilateral knee examination with Lachmeter®

    Bilateral knee examination with Lachmeter®. Examination repeated 3 times on each knee

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. anterior tibial translation of the knee

    The anterior tibial translation of the knee will be considered as representative of the anterior laxity of the knee of women under hormonal contraception via the Lachman test at 30° measured with a digital arthrometer type Lachmeter® (bilateral examination repeated 3 times on each knee).The degree of laxity will be evaluated thanks to the international classification IKDC: * Grade A 0 to 2 mm = normal * Grade B 3 to 5 mm = almost normal * Grade C 6 to 10 mm = abnormal * Grade D \> 10 mm = severely abnormal

    Time frame: Day1 (inclusion visit)

07

Study locations

1 site
  • CHU de Nice
    Nice, 06300, France
08

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Ran from Jun 2022 to primary completion in Aug 2023, 13 months.

Of 36 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Joint Instability, half reached primary completion within 15 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 8 and three quarters within 37. This study's 13 months is below that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 41 studies reached it within 15 months; a quarter within 7 and three quarters within 60.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Nov 16, 2021
First posted
Jan 4, 2022
StartActual
Jun 8, 2022
Primary completionActual
Aug 4, 2023
CompletionActual
Aug 4, 2023
Last update
May 26, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 26, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05177549
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jan 4, 2022
Start date
Jun 8, 2022
Primary completion
Aug 4, 2023
Completion
Aug 4, 2023
Last update
May 26, 2026

Study contacts

Christian ROUX
principal investigator · Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in May 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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