NCT04390932

The Impact of Therapeutic Alliance in the Rehabilitation of Knee Osteoarthritis.

The Impact of Therapeutic Alliance on Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Symptomatic Knee Osteoarthritis. A Randomized Clinical Trial Protocol.

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 24 (actual)
• Sponsor: Universidad Catolica de Temuco · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 45 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The therapeutic alliance (TA) is the working relationship or positive social bond between the patient and the therapist. TA is based on collaboration, communication, empathy of the therapist and mutual respect. Fostering an enhanced therapeutic alliance is a low-cost, therapist-dependent strategy that can accompany any clinical intervention. Growing evidence suggests that the TA plays a pivotal role in clinical outcomes in psychotherapy, medicine and physiotherapy interventions for chronic low back pain. On the other hand, therapeutic exercise is an economic, accessible and simple intervention strategy that has proven to be effective and safe to decrease pain and improve physical function in people with knee osteoarthritis (OA). To date, the role of TA in the management of knee OA is unknown. We hypothesized that a therapeutic exercise protocol accompanied by an enhanced TA could reduce the severity of symptoms and improve function in patients with symptomatic knee OA.

Detailed description

The objective of this randomized clinical trial will be to determine the effects of different levels of TA during the application of a therapeutic exercise program on pain intensity, pressure pain thresholds and function in patients with symptomatic knee OA.

Conditions

• Knee Osteoarthritis

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Enhanced TA	The enhanced TA is characterized by the personalization of the conversation, the verbalization of a joint participation in the process, the full presence of the therapist in the development of the exercise protocol, and the inclusion of behaviors such as active listening, empathy, and encouragement. In addition, therapist's body language transmits confidence, security, and attention.
OTHER	Limited TA	The limited TA does not consider the personalization of the conversation, uses a unidirectional verbalization and is imperative about the instructions provided to the participant, the therapist is intermittently absent during the therapeutic exercise sessions and uses a neutral or negative nonverbal language cues.
OTHER	Therapeutic exercise protocol.	Three 45-60 minute sessions of supervised therapeutic exercise (combination of aerobic, isometric, and isotonic exercise) delivered within a one-week period.

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-12-01
• Primary completion: 2025-03-28
• Completion: 2025-03-28
• First posted: 2020-05-18
• Last updated: 2025-04-02

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Chile