An interventional study of Tecar Therapy and ShamTecar Therapy in Osteearthritis, sponsored by Kirsehir Ahi Evran Universitesi. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye). Open to participants aged 40 Years to 75 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-03-02.
Sponsored by Kirsehir Ahi Evran Universitesi · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
This study aimed to investigate the effects of Tecar therapy on pain, physical function, and physical capacity in patients with chronic knee osteoarthritis.
Knee osteoarthritis is a degenerative, inflammatory, and chronic joint disease with an increasing incidence and prevalence worldwide. By causing pain, disability, and deterioration in quality of life, it constitutes a significant public health problem globally. Furthermore, the health, social, and economic burdens associated with chronic knee osteoarthritis are expected to increase in the future. For these reasons, and due to the rising incidence of the disease, clinicians are increasingly focusing on novel treatment strategies.
Currently, both surgical and non-surgical treatment modalities are used in the management of chronic knee osteoarthritis. The cornerstone of treatment consists of patient education, exercise, and weight control. Subsequent steps include pharmacological treatments, intra-articular injections, and physical therapy modalities. These modalities include transcutaneous electrical stimulation, therapeutic ultrasound, thermal modalities, laser therapy, extracorporeal shock wave therapy, electromagnetic field therapy, and capacitive and resistive electric transfer (Tecar therapy).
Tecar therapy is an endogenous diathermy modality that operates in the long-wave range using radiofrequency energy of approximately 0.5 MHz to heat the treated tissues. It consists of two electrodes-capacitive and resistive-with a long-wave current generator and multi-frequency sequential emission systems that deliver energy to tissues in two different modes. In the capacitive mode, an insulated electrode with a metal plate is generally used. The electrical charges generated by the radiofrequency generator accumulate near the insulated electrode, which acts as a dielectric surface. This method is used for the treatment of superficial tissues adjacent to the insulated electrode. In the resistive mode, two metal electrodes distribute electrical charges that tend to accumulate near bone, tendon, and connective tissue.
Tecar therapy has been shown to have positive effects on pain and quality of life in many patients with degenerative and inflammatory orthopedic conditions. Among diathermy modalities, Tecar therapy is considered one of the most appropriate and safe methods, as-unlike ultrasound-it has no limitation in terms of treatment area and does not cause excessive heat accumulation between the skin and the electrode .
To the best of our knowledge, there are very few studies investigating the use of Tecar therapy in chronic knee osteoarthritis. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Tecar therapy on pain, physical function, and physical capacity in patients with chronic knee osteoarthritis.
4,398 studies on the registry are indexed under Osteoarthritis; 583 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 60 is below the median of 70 across 3,440 interventional studies indexed under Osteoarthritis.
Browse Osteoarthritis studies →Kirsehir Ahi Evran Universitesi is the lead sponsor of 133 studies on the registry; 55 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Exclusion Criteria:
Conventional physical therapy and Tecar therapy: Conventional physiotherapy will include 15 sessions of TENS (100 Hz frequency, 10-30 mA intensity) and Hotpack therapy for all groups, 5 sessions per week over 3 weeks. A heating pad will be applied to the painful knee area for 20 minutes to provide superficial heat, followed by 20 minutes of TENS at 100 Hz using an HP or Chattanooga device. Simultaneously, all groups will receive knee isometric and Theraband exercise therapy under the supervision of a physiotherapist. This group will also receive TECAR therapy three times a week for three weeks, a total of nine sessions, at 0.5 MHz frequency, in a 5 min CAP + 10 min RES + 5 min CAP mode, administered by an experienced physiotherapist.
Other: Tecar Therapy · Other: conventional physical therapy
Conventional physical therapy and sham Tecar therapy: Conventional physiotherapy will include 15 sessions of TENS (100 Hz frequency, 10-30 mA intensity) and Hotpack therapy for all groups, 5 sessions per week over 3 weeks. A heating pad will be applied to the painful knee area for 20 minutes to provide superficial heat, followed by 20 minutes of TENS at 100 Hz using an HP or Chattanooga device. Simultaneously, all groups will receive knee isometric and Theraband exercise therapy under the supervision of a physiotherapist. This group will also receive TECAR sham therapy three times a week for three weeks, a total of nine sessions, at 0.5 MHz frequency, in a 5 min CAP + 10 min RES + 5 min CAP mode, administered by an experienced physiotherapist. The gel will be applied before the device is activated.
Other: ShamTecar Therapy · Other: conventional physical therapy
Conventional FTR: Conventional physical therapy will include 15 sessions of TENS (100 Hz frequency, 10-30 mA intensity) and Hotpack therapy for all groups, 5 sessions per week over 3 weeks. A heating pad will be applied to the painful knee area for 20 minutes to provide superficial heat, followed by 20 minutes of TENS at 100 Hz using an HP or Chattanooga device. Simultaneously, all groups will receive knee isometric and Theraband exercise therapy under the supervision of a physiotherapist.
Other: conventional physical therapy
Tecar Therapy and conventional physical therapy
ShamTecar Therapy and conventional physical therapy
conventional physical therapy
Visual Analog Scale
VAS is a pain rating scale with numbers 0 and 10. Here 0 means 'no pain' and 10 means 'unbearable pain'. The participant will rate the pain according to the scale. Patients' night, rest and activity pain will be evaluated separately.
Time frame: baseline, 3th week, 12th week
WOMAC
WOMAC consists of three main subgroups: pain, stiffness, and difficulty performing daily activities. It is a questionnaire with a total of 24 questions. Each question has five alternative answers: none, mild, moderate, severe, and very severe. Scoring is given as follows: pain (maximum 20), stiffness (8), and difficulty performing daily activities (68). High scores indicate worsening symptoms, significant limitations, and insufficient overall health. The Turkish version of the scale was developed by Tüzün et al. in 2005.
Time frame: baseline, 3th week, 12th week
The 6-minute walk test (6MWT)
The 6-minute walk test (6MWT) will be used to assess physical capacity. Patients will be asked to walk at their preferred pace for 6 minutes in a 30-meter corridor marked at 3-meter intervals. Rest periods or adjustments to walking speed will be allowed if necessary. The maximum distance covered in 6 minutes along the 30-meter corridor will be measured.
Time frame: baseline, 3th week, 12th week
Plan to share: Undecided
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Feb 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.
Kirsehir Ahi Evran Universitesi