Knee osteoarthritis affects more than 14 million Americans, causing pain and stiffness as cartilage wears away. Current treatments include physical therapy, weight management, pain medications, cortisone injections, hyaluronic acid injections, and joint replacement surgery. Research is now focused on drugs that might slow cartilage breakdown or promote repair.
What's actually going on in research
Trials are testing injections that aim to rebuild cartilage or reduce inflammation, nerve treatments that block pain signals, and drugs that target specific molecules involved in joint damage. Researchers are also studying stem cell approaches, platelet-rich plasma, and gene therapy delivered directly into the knee joint.
Disease-modifying drugs
Several drugs aim to slow cartilage loss rather than just treat pain. These include antibodies targeting nerve growth factor, which is involved in both pain and joint damage.
Regenerative approaches
Trials are testing injections of cells, growth factors, or gene therapy to stimulate cartilage repair. Some studies combine these with scaffolds that support new tissue growth.
Pain pathway targets
New treatments aim to block specific pain signals in the knee without affecting the whole body. These include injections that target nerve receptors or local inflammation.
What to know before you search
Eligibility typically depends on severity of arthritis on X-ray, pain level, age, body weight, and whether you've tried standard treatments like physical therapy or injections.
What types of trials are currently open
- Injection trials — Testing new substances injected into the knee joint, including drugs, cells, or biological products aimed at reducing pain or promoting cartilage repair.
- Oral medication trials — Testing pills that might slow joint damage or reduce inflammation throughout the body.
- Device and procedure trials — Studies of nerve stimulation, radiofrequency treatments, or surgical techniques that preserve the joint.
- Combination therapy trials — Testing whether combining treatments—such as an injection plus physical therapy—works better than either alone.
- Natural history studies — Following people with knee osteoarthritis over time to learn what predicts faster progression and response to treatment.
Recently added Osteoarthritis, Knee trials
Receive cold compression therapy after knee replacement surgery
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if compressive cryotherapy can reduce postoperative opioid consumption in patients undergoing primary total knee arthroplasty. It will also evaluate whether compressive cryotherapy improves postoperative recovery compared with standard care using conventional ice application. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does compressive cryotherapy reduce the total consumption of opioids during the first 7 days after total knee arthroplasty? Does compressive cryotherapy reduce postoperative pain and improve early recovery compared with standard cryotherapy? Researchers will compare compressive cryotherapy using the Game Ready® device with standard care using traditional ice packs to determine whether the intervention reduces opioid consumption and improves postoperative outcomes. Participants will: Be randomly assigned to receive compressive cryotherapy or standard cryotherapy with ice packs after surgery. Apply the assigned treatment four times per day during the first 7 postoperative days. Record daily pain levels using a visual analog scale (VAS) and document opioid consumption in a pain diary. Attend a follow-up visit on postoperative day 7 for evaluation of knee swelling, hematoma size, and recovery using the QoR-15 questionnaire.
Complete advanced imaging scans of your knee joint
This project aims to develop an \[18F\] fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) / magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) method to locate the painful inflammation in PFJ OA associated with joint loading. \[18F\] FDG PET/MRI is an emerging pain imaging approach with enhanced sensitivity to painful hypermetabolic inflammation through evaluation of intracellular glucose utilization rate via (\[18F\]FDG PET) and fine anatomy details (MRI). The investigative group has shown its promise in revealing previously unidentified or unspecified pain generators in various musculoskeletal pain conditions. The investigators have also demonstrated the feasibility of visualizing the structural changes between unloaded and loaded knee joints with MRI, which can be easily adopted in the current PET/MRI setting. The main challenge in the proposed \[18F\]FDG PET/MRI approach is to differentiate the normal uptake of FDG for metabolic changes by weight-bearing from abnormal changes indicating eventual pain aggravation by weight-bearing and knee-flexion. The investigators have garnered the following two aims to validate the proposed method by comparing unloaded and loaded knee imaging results between PFJ OA pain patients and asymptomatic, matched controls.
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