Remote Tai Chi for Knee Osteoarthritis

Last updated: April 8, 2025
Sponsor: Tufts Medical Center
Overall Status: Active - Recruiting

Phase

N/A

Condition

Osteoarthritis

Knee Injuries

Treatment

Remote Tai Chi

Clinical Study ID

NCT06384898
STUDY00002259
UH3AT012413
  • Ages 50-100
  • All Genders

Study Summary

The goal of this pragmatic randomized trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of remote Tai Chi to treat knee pain in adults with knee osteoarthritis. The main questions the trial aims to answer are:

  • Compared to routine care, will patients with Knee OA receiving remote Tai Chi exhibit greater improvement in knee-related pain (WOMAC pain score, primary outcome), pain interference (PROMIS-Pain Interference, secondary outcome), and health-related quality of life at 3 months?

  • Does remote tai chi decreases healthcare utilization and analgesic use over the one-year study period?

Researchers will compare remote Tai Chi added to routine care to routine care alone to see if remote tai chi works to treat knee osteoarthritis pain. Participants will participate in remotely delivered web-based tai chi sessions, twice a week for 12 weeks, or will continue to receive routine care. Participants will be followed for 12 months after randomization.

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 50 years or older

  • Treating clinician diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis

  • Have a score of 40 (visual analog version) or greater on at least 1 of the 5questions in the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) pain subscale (range of 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating greaterpain) at baseline.

  • Able to provide informed consent

  • If randomized to the Routine Care group, willing to abstain from Tai Chi programsuntil completion of the study

  • If randomized to the Tai Chi group, willing to comply with the Tai Chi program (twice-a-week remote sessions for 12 weeks)

  • Has access to a home computer or device that will allow telehealth (bidirectionalaudio and video) delivery of the intervention

  • Is an active patient at one of the 4 participating healthcare system

Exclusion

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Currently practicing Tai Chi

  • Serious medical conditions (e.g., dementia, significant neurological deficits orneurodegenerative disorder, active cancer treatment, psychosis, sensory deficits)limiting the participant's ability to participate in the Tai Chi safely, asdetermined by the principal investigators

  • Unable to walk without a cane or other assistive device

  • Any previous or scheduled knee replacement

  • Reports severe depression defined by a Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) score of 29 or more.

  • Reports suicidal ideations defined by a score on BDI-II item of 2 or 3 ('I wouldlike to kill myself' or 'I would kill myself if I had the chance').

  • Not English speaking

  • Enrollment in any other clinical trial within the last 30 days

Study Design

Total Participants: 480
Treatment Group(s): 1
Primary Treatment: Remote Tai Chi
Phase:
Study Start date:
April 07, 2025
Estimated Completion Date:
October 31, 2027

Study Description

Investigators will conduct a 12-month embedded, pragmatic, hybrid type 1 effectiveness-implementation, individually randomized group-treatment trial that will compare the effects of a 3-month twice weekly remotely delivered web-based Tai Chi intervention plus routine care versus routine care alone across four health care systems (Tufts Medical Center, Boston Medical Center, University of California Los Angeles Health, and Cleveland Clinic) in four geographic regions (Eastern Massachusetts, Southern California, Northeast Ohio (Cleveland Clinic), Southern Florida (Cleveland Clinic). Investigators will enroll a total of 480 diverse patients with a clinical diagnosis of Knee OA. Participants will be evaluated at baseline and 3 months, with additional follow-up at 6 and 12 months.

Connect with a study center

  • Tufts Medical Center

    Boston, Massachusetts 02111
    United States

    Active - Recruiting

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