An interventional study of Cognitive Muscular Therapy for knee pain in Knee Osteoarthritis, sponsored by University of Salford. Completed at 1 site in United Kingdom. Open to participants aged 40 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-12-02.
Sponsored by University of Salford · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
The primary aim will seek to understand whether Cognitive Muscular Therapy (CMT) could provide pain relief for people on a waiting list for joint replacement.
Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a chronic long-term condition that results in pain, disability and reduced quality of life. While current guidelines focus on the use of exercises to improve strength, there is clear evidence that people with knee osteoarthritis over-activate their muscles during functional tasks. Through NIHR funding the investigators have developed a new behavioural intervention for people with KOA- Cognitive Muscular Therapy (CMT). CMT aims to reduce overactivity of the knee muscles and change the way people react to pain. Importantly, muscle overactivity has been linked to increased pain, elevated joint loading and a more rapid rate of cartilage loss. Our pilot data suggests CMT can reduce knee osteoarthritis pain. Specifically, the investigatorsobserved a 69% reduction in pain in 11 patients who received six sessions of CMT. The investigators have subsequently trained 5 NHS physiotherapists to deliver CMT and observed them deliver the intervention to 12 patients. These patients reported average improvements in pain of 85% after 7 sessions.The proposed project will seek to understand whether CMT could provide pain relief for people on a waiting list for joint replacement. The first stage of the project will seek to understand patient's and clinicians perceptions of knee osteoarthritis. This insight will allow us to map changes to CMT which will make it suitable for people on a waiting list for knee replacement. Following modification of the intervention, the investigators plan to recruit 24 participants from knee replacement waiting lists in Manchester, UK. All participants will recieve the CMT treatment and this will consist of seven sessions of CMT over a 7 week period. All participants will complete questionnaires at baseline and at 10 weeks and will be offered an interview to understand their experiences.
3,292 studies on the registry are indexed under Osteoarthritis, Knee; 623 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 36 is below the median of 68 across 2,714 interventional studies indexed under Osteoarthritis, Knee.
Browse Osteoarthritis, Knee studies →University of Salford is the lead sponsor of 27 studies on the registry; 2 are open to participants now.
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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.
Exclusion:
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.
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.
A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.
Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
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.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Immunosuppression
A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.
Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Corticosteroids (steroids)
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
The treatment group will receive seven sessions of CMT over a 14 week period.
Behavioral: Cognitive Muscular Therapy for knee pain
Psychologically informed physiotherapy which uses biofeedback training to reduce muscle overactivity and improve postural control and also encourages people to change the way they react to pain.
Change in the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) pain.
The extent of pain in the involved knee during five activities. Score 0-20 (0=no pain, 20=maximum pain)
Time frame: Change from Baseline to 10 weeks
Change in the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) (full score)
To assess pain and function in the involved knee. Score 0-96 (0=no pain/full function, 96=maximum pain/lowest function)
Time frame: Change from Baseline to 10 weeks
Change in Pain catastrophizing scale
Used to capture pain catastrophizing behaviours. Score 0-52 (0=no pain catastrophizing, 52=maximum pain catastrophizing)
Time frame: Change from Baseline to 10 weeks
Change in the EQ-5D-5L
Captures the patient's self-rated health. Score 0-1 ( 0= death,1= perfect health)
Time frame: Change from Baseline to 10 weeks
Change in the Health resource utilisation - custom questionnaire
To capture to use of health(care) resources
Time frame: Change from Baseline to 10 weeks
Change in the Oxford Knee Score
The Oxford Knee Score (OKS) is a 12-item patient-reported PRO specifically designed and developed to assess function and pain. Score- (0= severe arthritis, 60=satisfactory joint function
Time frame: Change from Baseline to 10 weeks
Change in the UCLA Activity Score
Used to capture activity levels. Score (1= low activity, 10= high activity)
Time frame: Change from Baseline to 10 weeks
Change in the Arthritis Self Efficacy Scale (ASES)
Capture self-efficacy in people with arthritis. Score (8= low self efficacy, 80= high self efficacy)
Time frame: Change from Baseline to 10 weeks
Plan to share: Undecided — The investigtors may make the clinical data available through a document which will be linked to the final published journal paper
Ran from Mar 2023 to primary completion in Apr 2025, 25 months.
Of 1,111 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Osteoarthritis, Knee, half reached primary completion within 18 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 8 and three quarters within 36. This study's 25 months is above that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 1,251 studies reached it within 18 months; a quarter within 8 and three quarters within 36.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
This study is completed, as verified in Nov 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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University of Salford