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Low-Level Laser Therapy for Osgood-Schlatter or Sever Pain in Youth Athletes

Sponsor: Medical University of Gdansk • ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT07446517

Registry updated: 2026-10-09

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Description

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if low-level laser therapy (also called photobiomodulation) works to treat knee or heel pain in physically active children and adolescents with Osgood-Schlatter disease or Sever disease. It will also learn about the safety of this treatment. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Does low-level laser therapy lower pain more than a sham (placebo) laser treatment? 2. Does low-level laser therapy improve daily and sport-related function more than a sham laser treatment? 3. What medical problems, if any, do participants have during the study? Researchers will compare active low-level laser therapy to a sham (placebo) laser treatment. The sham treatment looks and feels the same but does not deliver therapeutic light. This comparison will show whether the laser therapy works better than placebo. Participants will: * Complete screening and a baseline visit * Be randomly assigned to active laser therapy or sham laser therapy * Receive a series of treatment sessions over \[2 weeks\] * Answer short questionnaires about pain and function at baseline and follow-up visits * Have ultrasound imaging and/or provide blood samples for research measurements Participants will not know which treatment group they are in until the study ends.

Interventions

Photobiomodulation (Low-Level Laser Therapy) (Device)
Active photobiomodulation (low-level laser therapy) delivered using a laser device applied to the symptomatic apophyseal region (tibial tubercle for Osgood-Schlatter-type pain and/or calcaneal region for Sever-type pain). Sessions will be provided according to a standardized schedule and preset device parameters (wavelength/output/dose and application time) specified in the protocol.
Sham Photobiomodulation (Sham Laser Treatment) (Device)
Sham (placebo) photobiomodulation delivered with an identical device appearance and treatment routine (positioning, contact, and session duration) but without delivery of therapeutic light. The sham procedure is intended to maintain participant blinding and matches the active intervention schedule.

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria: * Aged 10 to 17 years * Participates in organized sport with at least 12 months of training history * Has knee pain at the tibial tubercle (Osgood-Schlatter-type pain) and/or heel pain at the back of the heel (Sever-type pain) * Pain is worse with activity and reproduced by pressing on the painful area * Pain intensity is 3 out of 10 or higher on the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) during the clinical visit and in the last week (0 = no pain, 10 = worst pain imaginable) * Symptoms have been present for at least 2 weeks * For heel pain consistent with Sever disease, the heel squeeze test is positive * Ultrasound shows findings consistent with an apophyseal injury at the painful site * Has no signs of acute illness or infection on the assessment day and during the previous 14 days (for example, fever or "flu-like" symptoms) * A parent/guardian provides written informed consent * The participant provides assent (agreement) to take part Exclusion Criteria: * Current pain episode started after an acute injury (for example, fall, collision, ankle sprain, or similar trauma) * Prior surgery on the lower limb * Known diagnosis of patellofemoral pain syndrome (pain around/behind the kneecap) * Known patellar instability (recurrent kneecap dislocations or giving way) * Known complex regional pain syndrome * History of lower-limb fracture * Ultrasound shows clinically important abnormalities in the assessed area that are not consistent with the target condition (for example, calcifications or other significant findings) * Known chronic or systemic disease that may affect the musculoskeletal system (for example, inflammatory joint disease or other clinically significant chronic conditions) * Received any of the following in the last 3 months: steroid injection, hydrodilatation, or laser therapy * Used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (for example, ibuprofen, naproxen) within the last 14 days, or currently uses them * Clinically important abnormal blood test results (complete blood count) that may affect safety or data validity * Parent/guardian or participant does not agree to participate, or withdraws consent/assent

Conditions

Osgood-Schlatter Disease Sever's Disease

Locations

Department of Immunobiology and Environment Microbiology, Debinki 7 — Gdansk, Pomeranian, Poland

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Official Source

Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

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