E-rehab for Knee Pain
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Evaluation of electronic-rehabilitation programmes for chronic knee pain
IRAS ID
269827
Contact name
Philip Conaghan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leeds
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN15564385
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
EDGE ID, 126340; Portfolio ID, 43473
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 6 months, 5 days
Research summary
This study, which is funded by Versus Arthritis, aims to evaluate how feasible and acceptable two electronic rehabilitation (e-rehabilitation) programmes are when used to treat patients with chronic knee pain. The acceptability and experiences of the physiotherapists delivering the interventions will also be explored. The study will build on and expand for use in the UK, e-rehabilitation programmes that have been developed in Australia, and Phase 1 will focus on the development and refinement of the e-rehabilitation programmes using expert review and interviews.
In Phase 2, patients with knee pain who meet the inclusion criteria will be recruited from the Leeds Community Healthcare Musculoskeletal Service. They will then be randomised to receive one of the two e-rehabilitation programmes being studied (Group E-Rehab or MyKneeExercise), or ‘usual care’ (one or two NHS physiotherapy clinic visits with an exercise leaflet to continue exercises at home). Participants will be informed of their randomisation allocation via email or telephone. The ‘Group E-Rehab’ intervention is an Internet-delivered physiotherapist-prescribed home exercise programme, and physiotherapists will be trained to deliver this. The ‘MyKneeExercise’ intervention is home web-based and no physiotherapist input is required to deliver this e-rehabilitation programme.
The feasibility and acceptability of these interventions will then be explored in Phase 3 using data collected through questionnaires and interviews, and the study will assess the potential use of the e-rehabilitation programmes by physiotherapists in community care settings. Depending on the outcome and success of the feasibility study, then the results will be used to refine the trial procedures for a definitive randomized controlled trial (RCT), including estimation of sample size.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 5
REC reference
20/WS/0006
Date of REC Opinion
21 Jan 2020
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion