Recruiting

Musculoskeletal Function

Sponsor:

NIH

Code:

NCT00051857

Conditions

Abnormalities

Imaging

Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 5 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Study Details

Brief summary:

This study will use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound images to study how muscles, tendons, and bones work together to cause motion. The procedure is one of several tools being developed to characterize normal and impaired musculoskeletal function, with the goal of developing improved methods of diagnosis and treatment of movement disorders.

Healthy normal volunteers must be age 5 to unlimited, with or without joint impairment, may be eligible for this study. Volunteers with joint impairment may not have serious injury to the joint being studied, previous surgery on the joint being studied, or extreme pain at the joint being studied.

MRI uses a strong magnet and radio waves to create images of the inside of the body. The subject lies on a long narrow couch inside a metal cylinder (the scanner) for up to 3 hours while the scanner gathers data. Earplugs are worn to muffle loud noises caused by electrical switching of radiofrequency circuits used in the scanning process. A special pad or tube may be placed over or around the region being scanned to improve the quality of the data. The subject will be asked to repeatedly move a specific joint, such as the knee, for brief periods, usually less than 5 minutes. The subject can communicate via intercom with the person performing the study at all times during the procedure, and may request to stop the study at any time.

Conditions

Abnormalities

Imaging

Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome

Study ID

NCT00051857

Start date

Mar 5, 2003

Status verified date

Oct 6, 2026

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 5 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

  • INCLUSION CRITERIA:

Affected Participants:

  • Must be between the ages of 5-95 years.
  • Minors < 18 years of age, they must be capable of providing assent (verbal or written) with parental or legal guardian permissions obtained.
  • Adults 18 >= years of age, they must be able to provide informed consent.
  • Have the presence of a bone, muscle, soft tissue, connective tissue injury, impairment or related muscular skeletal system pathology.
  • Ability to have an MRI Scan.

Healthy Volunteer Participants

  • Must be between the ages of 5-95 years.
  • Minors < 18 years of age, they must be capable of providing assent (verbal or written) with parental or legal guardian permissions obtained.
  • Adults 18 >= years of age, they must be able to provide informed consent.
  • Ability to have an MRI Scan.

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

Affected Participants:

-For the MR imaging portion of this study, all participants must complete the NIH Diagnostic Radiology screening questionnaire. If any potential contraindication is found, either the volunteer s doctor (with knowledge of the potential contraindication) or the radiology department at the NIH will be contacted to determine if the potential contraindication would exclude them from the specific MR scans being proposed.

Healthy Volunteer Participants

  • Any relevant medical problems
  • Clinical signs of an impairment in the joint/limb being studied.
  • Any serious injury to the joint/limb being studied, previous surgery on the joint/limb being studied or extreme pain at the joint/limb being studied.
  • Neurologic Pathology affecting the muscular skeletal system
  • For the MR imaging portion of this study, all participants must complete the NIH Diagnostic Radiology screening questionnaire. If any potential contraindication is found, either the volunteer s doctor (with knowledge of the potential contraindication) or the radiology department at the NIH will be contacted to determine if the potential contraindication would exclude them from the specific MR scans being proposed.

Study Design

Enrollment

750 participants

Anticipated

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

1/Healthy Controls

Subjects 5 years old and up with musculoskeletal impairment, pathology, or variant.

2/Healthy Volunteers

Subjects 5 years old and up without musculoskeletal impairment, pathology, or variant.

Primary outcome measure

  • Dynamic MRI measures of in vivo tissue velocity, bone and muscle, during dynamic tasks of knee flexion/extension [ Time Frame: End of study ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Frances T Gavelli, Ph.D.

(301) 451-7585gavellif@cc.nih.gov

Locations

National Institutes of Health Clinical Center

Recruiting

Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892

More Information

Sponsor

National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC)

Last update posted

Oct 8, 2026

Last verified

Oct 6, 2026

Keywords

  • Patello-Femoral
  • Knee
  • Motion
  • MRI
  • Kinematics
  • Natural History

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-10-09. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC) on 2026-10-08. Recruitment status is synced daily from ClinicalTrials.gov and may not reflect the sponsor's current status. Confirm during your call.