Knee Osteoarthritis Rehabilitation Through Rotational Inertia

Conditions

• Knee Arthritis, Osteoarthritis

Eligibility Criteria

Sex

ALL

Age

40 Years - 70 Years

Healthy Volunteers

Accepted

Interventions

• Eccentric resistance training — OTHER
  The intervention consists of an eccentric overload resistance training program using a portable flywheel exercise device (kBox). This device generates resistance through inertia, meaning that the load is created by the individual's own movement speed and the effort applied. Participants with knee osteoarthritis will train with the flywheel system for 8 weeks, completing two to three sessions each week, with each session lasting approximately 30 to 45 minutes. The program will focus on functional lower-limb exercises such as squats, step-ups, and knee extensions. These exercises are chosen because they closely mimic everyday movements like climbing and descending stairs. Participants randomized to the delayed-exercise subgroup will continue with usual activity and medical care for the first 8 weeks, serving as a comparison group. After this waiting period, the delayed group will then be offered the same flywheel training protocol.

Study Details

This study is testing whether a new type of exercise program, called eccentric overload training using a flywheel device, can improve stair-climbing ability in people with knee osteoarthritis. The flywheel device provides resistance throughout the entire movement and gives extra challenge during the muscle-lengthening phase of exercise. This type of training may improve muscle structure, strength, and coordination more effectively than conventional methods. The study's central idea is that better muscle quality and improved coordination will lead to smoother, safer stair movement and reduce the risk of falls. Advanced tools such as ultrasound imaging and motion analysis will be used to measure muscle health and movement patterns in detail. The hypothesis is that individuals with knee osteoarthritis have poorer muscle quality and less coordinated stair-stepping compared to healthy adults, and that performing eccentric overload training will enhance muscle quality, improve movement coordination, and make stair navigation safer and more efficient.

Key Dates

Start date

Aug 20, 2025

Status verified

Feb 2026

Primary completion

Dec 31, 2028

Completion

May 31, 2029

Study Design

Enrollment

60 participants (estimated)

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

CROSSOVER

Primary purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Arms

• Experimental: Initial-Exercise'
  The initial exercise group will participate in an 8-week eccentric overload exercise intervention using a kBox, with two sessions per week. Participants will then cease the intervention for 8 weeks to enter a detraining period.
• Experimental: Delayed-Exercise
  The 'Delayed-Exercise' group will maintain their normal activity, without intervention, for the first 8 weeks of the study. In the second half of the study, they will begin the same 8-week kBox training completed by the 'Initial-Exercise' group.

Primary Outcome Measure

Stair-stepping smoothness [ Time Frame: Baseline, up to 10 weeks, up to 19 weeks ]

Central Contacts

• Katie Boncella, MS
  7207241786
  [email protected]
• Michael Harris-Love, PT, MPT, DSc, FGSA, FAPTA
  303-724-0687
  [email protected]

Locations (1)

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