An interventional study of Conventional Rehabilitation (Muscle-Strengthening Training) and Standardized Balance Training in Osteoarthritis, Knee, sponsored by Qingdao Municipal Hospital. Completed at 1 site in China. Open to participants aged 50 Years to 75 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-09.
Sponsored by Qingdao Municipal Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a 8-week balance training program helps older adults with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) stand and walk more steadily and lowers their chance of falling. KOA is a common joint condition that causes knee pain and makes it hard to keep steady. The study will also look at how this training changes brain activity related to balance.
The main questions it aims to answer are:
Researchers will compare two groups:
About 74 people will join the study. They will be placed in one of the two groups by chance, with about 37 people in each group. The staff who run the tests and analyze the results will not know which group a participant is in.
Participants will:
After the study ends, people in the usual care group who want to will also be offered the same balance training.
3,292 studies on the registry are indexed under Osteoarthritis, Knee; 623 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 74 is close to the median of 68 across 2,714 interventional studies indexed under Osteoarthritis, Knee.
Browse Osteoarthritis, Knee studies →Qingdao Municipal Hospital is the lead sponsor of 5 studies on the registry; none are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
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 Criteria:
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.
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.
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
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.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Contraindication
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Participants will receive the same conventional rehabilitation as the control group-muscle-strengthening exercises including seated isotonic quadriceps training and side-lying hip abductor training, performed 3 times per week for 8 weeks-plus a standardized 8-week balance training program delivered 3 times per week, 40-45 minutes per session. The balance program progresses through three stages: (1) adaptation, covering basic agility, static balance on a foam pad, and anti-perturbation tasks with therapist assistance; (2) strengthening, progressing to more demanding static and dynamic balance, reactive, and sensory-integration tasks with reduced assistance; and (3) application, including obstacle courses, high-demand static and dynamic balance tasks, and cognitive dual-task exercises such as catching and throwing a ball.
Behavioral: Conventional Rehabilitation (Muscle-Strengthening Training) · Behavioral: Standardized Balance Training
Participants will receive conventional rehabilitation only, consisting of muscle-strengthening exercises performed 3 times per week for 8 weeks. Training includes seated isotonic quadriceps strengthening and side-lying hip abductor strengthening using ankle sandbags; each contraction is held for 10 seconds and repeated in 3 sets of 10 repetitions. No additional balance training will be provided during the 8-week period.
Behavioral: Conventional Rehabilitation (Muscle-Strengthening Training)
A 8-week conventional rehabilitation program consisting of muscle-strengthening exercises performed 3 times per week. It includes: (1) seated isotonic quadriceps training with an ankle sandbag, extending the knee to the maximum and holding for 10 seconds, 10 repetitions in 3 sets; and (2) side-lying hip abductor training with an ankle sandbag, abducting the hip to 30 degrees and holding for 10 seconds, 10 repetitions in 3 sets, with a 2-minute rest between sets.
A 8-week standardized balance training program delivered 3 times per week, 40-45 minutes per session, provided in addition to conventional rehabilitation. It progresses through three stages: (1) adaptation: basic agility such as cross-stepping, static balance on a foam pad (single-leg stance), and dynamic balance tasks with close therapist assistance; (2) strengthening: higher-difficulty static balance with reduced assistance, dynamic and reactive balance, and anti-perturbation and sensory-integration training; and (3) application: obstacle courses, high-demand static and dynamic balance tasks, and cognitive dual-task exercises such as catching and throwing a ball.
Timed Up and Go Test(TUG)
The time in seconds required to rise from an armchair (about 45 cm high), walk 3 meters at a normal pace, turn around, walk back, and sit down. A shorter time indicates better functional mobility and dynamic balance.
Time frame: Baseline and after 8 weeks of intervention
Berg Balance Scale (BBS)
A 14-item standardized measure of static and dynamic balance; each item is scored 0-4, with a total score of 0-56. Higher scores indicate better balance.
Time frame: Baseline and after 8 weeks of intervention
Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC)
A 24-item questionnaire covering pain, stiffness, and physical function. Higher scores indicate worse symptoms and greater functional limitation.
Time frame: Baseline and after 8 weeks of intervention
Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)
A 0-10 scale for knee pain intensity, where 0 means no pain and 10 means the worst imaginable pain.
Time frame: Baseline and after 8 weeks of intervention
Computerized Static Posturography
Objective balance measures from a force plate, including plantar pressure distribution (load percentage across foot regions) and center-of-gravity sway angular velocity (deg/sec) during single-leg stance with eyes open and closed. Lower sway velocity indicates better postural stability.
Time frame: Baseline and after 8 weeks of intervention
Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (rs-fMRI)
Brain imaging measures of spontaneous neural activity and functional connectivity, including amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF), regional homogeneity (ReHo), and functional connectivity (FC), used to assess balance-related brain function.
Time frame: Baseline and after 8 weeks of intervention
Incidence of Adverse Events
Any study-related adverse events, including muscle soreness, fatigue, falls, and MRI-related anxiety or discomfort, with severity and causal relationship documented.
Time frame: Throughout the 8-week intervention period
Plan to share: No
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is completed, as verified in Nov 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Qingdao Municipal Hospital