Trial reportBMC musculoskeletal disorders2019
A loaded self-managed exercise programme for patellofemoral pain: a mixed methods feasibility study.
Trial report in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Kinesiophobia Is Associated With Poor Function and Modifiable Through Interventions in People With Patellofemoral Pain: A Systematic Review With Individual Participant Data Correlation Meta-Analysis.Physical therapy · 2023Pooled it
- Trunk Biomechanics in Individuals with Knee Disorders: A Systematic Review with Evidence Gap Map and Meta-analysis.Sports medicine - open · 2022Pooled it
- A Mixed Comparison of Interventions for Kinesiophobia in Individuals With Musculoskeletal Pain: Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Pooled it
- Co-development of an evidence-informed, theoretically driven exercise programme for people with chronic non-specific neck pain (the EPIC-Neck programme - "Exercise Prescription Improved through Co-design").BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2025Article
- What does collaborative healthcare for people with musculoskeletal-related conditions look like? A scoping review.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2025Article
- Article
- A physiotherapist-led biopsychosocial education and exercise programme for patients with chronic low back pain in Ghana: a mixed-methods feasibility study.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2024Article
- Implementing a Patient Portal for the Remote Follow-Up of Self-Isolating Patients With COVID-19 Infection Through Patient and Stakeholder Engagement (the Opal-COVID Study): Mixed Methods Pilot Study.Journal of participatory medicine · 2024Article
- Virtual practice facilitation as an implementation strategy for launching opioid safety committees for quality improvement in primary care: feasibility, acceptability, and intervention fidelity.BMC primary care · 2024Article
- Group- and sex-related differences in psychological and pain processing factors in people with and without patellofemoral pain: correlation with clinical outcomes.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2023Article
- Adherence to and the Maintenance of Self-Management Behaviour in Older People with Musculoskeletal Pain-A Scoping Review and Theoretical Models.Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundA novel loaded self-managed exercise programme that includes pain education and self-management strategies may result in better outcomes for people with patellofemoral pain (PFP). However, establishing program feasibility is an essential first step before testing efficacy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of conducting a definitive RCT which will evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a loaded self-managed exercise programme for people with PFP compared with usual physiotherapy.
methodsIn a mixed methods, pragmatic, randomised controlled feasibility study, 60 participants with PFP (57% female; mean age 29 years) were recruited from a physiotherapy clinic within a large UK teaching hospital. They were randomly allocated to receive either a loaded self-managed exercise programme (n = 30) or usual physiotherapy (n = 30). Feasibility indicators of process, resources, and management were collected through follow-up of standardised questionnaires six months after recruitment and semi-structured interviews with 20 participants and physiotherapists.
resultsRecruitment rate was 5 participants per month; consent rate was 99%; adherence to intervention appointments was 87%; completeness of questionnaire data was 100%; and adherence to intervention delivery was 95%. Three exercise diaries were returned at six months (5%). At six months, 25 questionnaire booklets were returned (9 in the loaded self-managed group, 16 in the usual physiotherapy group), with a total retention rate of 42%. At six months, 56% (5/9) of respondents in the loaded self-managed group and 56% (9/16) in the usual physiotherapy group were classified as 'recovered'. Both groups demonstrated improvements in average pain (VAS), kinesiophobia, pain catastrophizing, general self-efficacy and EQ-5D-5 L from baseline to six months.
conclusionThe results of this feasibility study confirm that it is feasible and acceptable to deliver a loaded self-managed exercise programme to adults with PFP in an NHS physiotherapy outpatient setting. However, between group differences in lost to follow up and poor exercise diary completion mean we are uncertain on some feasibility aspects. These methodological issues need addressing prior to conducting a definitive RCT.
trial registrationISRCTN 35272486 . Registered 19th December 2016.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.