Participants needed for knee pain research study at WVU

Nick Linn, a student in the West Virginia University School of Medicine Exercise Physiology program, is seeking participants for his master’s thesis project. The research study will examine the immediate effects of the NuNee patellar support on perceived pain, biomechanics and function in individuals with patellofemoral pain while performing the modified star excursion balance test.

Participants must be 18-45 years old who present symptoms of patellofemoral pain. Participants are eligible if they have had symptoms for at least three months, including pain around the patella during activities like squats, climbing stairs or running, or report having a pain scale level of greater than three during functional activities.

Participants are not eligible if they have had previous knee surgery on the affected leg (e.g., ACL reconstruction, knee arthroscopy, knee replacement), other spine or lower extremity surgery or injuries in the past three months or are currently involved in interventions for patellofemoral pain. In addition, individuals with hypermobile patella or patellar instability are not eligible to participate.

Research study testing will take approximately one to two hours. Participants will be asked to perform the modified star excursion balance test under various braced conditions. Three ‘good’ trials of each will be completed.

Testing will take place at the WVU Health Sciences Center Mountaineer Sports Medicine Research Laboratory (HSC-South room 8501).

If you are interested in participating in this study, please contact Nick Linn at 918-269-0785 or via email or Department of Human Performance Professor Jean McCrory, Ph.D.

Approved WVU IRB #2210657219 is on file.