Osteoarthritis Clinical Trials in Chicago, IL

This is a clinical trial of people who have pain due to knee osteoarthritis at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The study will last for about 20 weeks. 180 qualified participants will be randomly assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio (60 participants per group) to one of three treatment groups: duloxetine, celecoxib, or placebo. Participants will have an Xray, knee MRI, brain MRI, blood draws, pain sensitivity testing, and asked to fill out questionnaires. The purpose of this study is to try to predict which participants will respond to the treatment. Read Less

Total knee replacement (TKR) is a common and costly procedure widely used to relieve pain and improve function in patients with symptomatic advanced knee osteoarthritis (OA). As of 2013, the annual incidence of TKR was over 680,000 surgeries and annual costs exceeded $11 billion. Growing evidence suggests that while pain and functional status improve following TKR, physical activity (PA) typically does not surpass pre-TKR levels. Engagement in PA can meaningfully improve quality of life (QoL), pain, and function. Given the large investment in TKR, the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of TKR could be substantially increased if TKR recipients became more physically active. The Knee Arthroplasty Activity Trial (KArAT) is a randomized controlled trial and participants will be randomly assigned to one of three arms. Participants across all arms will receive usual post-operative care for TKR surgery. Participants in the first arm will complete basic study activities, such as responding to surveys and attending two in-person clinic visits. Participants in the second arm will do the same and also receive a wrist-based physical activity tracker intervention. Participants in the third arm will receive a telephonic active coaching (motivational interviewing) and financial incentives (for reaching physical activity goals) (TAC(MI)+FI) based intervention, as well as a wrist-based physical activity tracker intervention. The second and third arms will be eligible to receive lottery-based financial rewards for wearing a wrist-worn activity tracker for twenty-four months during the study. Read Less

The purpose of the proposed study is to evaluate the efficacy of dronabinol for postoperative pain after arthroscopic surgery of the knee. The investigators hypothesize that dronabinol will relieve pain, reduce opioid consumption and will result in few negative side effects. If this pilot study shows promising results the investigators will expand the trial to include additional arthroscopic surgeries (hip, shoulder) and other types of orthopaedic surgery. Read Less

Exercise is considered the most effective, non-drug treatment for reducing pain and improving movement in patients with osteoarthritis. Diminished muscle strength is a common symptom associated with the onset of knee osteoarthritis. The evidence supports the benefit of exercise therapy, in reducing pain and improving function in subjects with knee OA, however research to date has been unable to quantify the disease-modifying effect of any form of exercise. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate how the use of a seated compact elliptical machine (Cubii JR1) exercise program in conjunction with a standard physical therapy regimen will impact the health of individuals with knee osteoarthritis. Read Less

This study will examine and compare the changes in serum biomarkers, joint kinematics, and thigh muscle strength based on three different 8-week exercise protocols in individuals with knee pathology: Lower-body positive-pressure (LBPP) supported low-load treadmill walking and Aquatic exercise program and standard of care treadmill or community walking. Investigators hypothesize that both the 8-week exercise programs which aim to partially off-load the knee joint will be associated with a significant reduction in serum biological markers of joint disease (tissue turnover, cartilage degradation and inflammation) in response to the exercise. The serum biological markers will be directly correlated to participant reported knee pain. Both the LBPP-supported low-load and the aquatic exercise regimens will result in significant increases in thigh muscle strength about the degenerative knee which in-turn will result in diminished knee pain and enhanced joint function. Investigators aim to compare these two exercise programs to understand if benefits of one far exceeds the other as compared to standard of care treadmill or community walking. Read Less

OBJECTIVES: Physical activity has been established as an important component of rehabilitation for knee osteoarthritis (OA), and is often guided by a physical therapist.(1) Physical therapy for knee OA typically involves 1-3 sessions with a licensed physical therapist per week, for up to 12 weeks. These sessions can take a lot of time and effort for subjects, particularly when travel times are considered. Remote patient monitoring is an emerging treatment method which can help to reduce the need for in-person treatment sessions. Remote patient monitoring has been tested in subjects after a total knee arthroplasty, and initial results show that subjects find the process motivating and engaging.(2) This process has not been tested in individuals with symptomatic knee OA. Prior studies have shown that personalized internet based programs are effective at improving function in individuals with knee OA(3), but the effectiveness of these programs with remote patient monitoring is unknown. One example of current wearable technology that can be utilized for remote patient monitoring is the Opum (OPUM) Digital Knee® (ODK) modular orthotic. The ODK utilizes a wearable device in a knee brace which relays real time information back to the subject and physical therapist via their mobile phone. The ODK can provide information about sagittal and frontal plane knee kinematics, sagittal plane knee range of motion, time spent performing various daily activities, time spent exercising, overall load on the knee joint, and progress over time in each of these metrics. This device has been previously tested in subjects after an ACL reconstruction, but has yet to be tested in subjects with knee osteoarthritis. The objective of this study is to assess the effect of the ODK technology in a medial knee unloader brace with remote patient monitoring on pain, function, and quality of life in individuals with knee OA. This study will contain two groups: A control group receiving a medial unloader brace and a personalized home exercise program, and an intervention group which will receive an ODK in a medial off-loader brace, and a home exercise program with remote patient monitoring. The hypothesis is that subjects who wear the knee brace with the ODK with remote patient monitoring will have a greater reduction in pain and increase in quality of life than those who receive the brace with a home exercise program. Read Less

Our goal is to compare the serum biomarker changes of joint disease that occur in response to partially off-loaded (50%) walking exercise to regular (100%) walking exercise while on a Lower Body Positive Pressure (LBPP) treadmill. Secondly we are determining the relationship between changes in the concentration of these serum biomarkers and participant reported knee pain while walking on a LBPP treadmill. Read Less