Baseline characteristics of study participants
| Variable | RCT Australia (n=179) | RCT the Netherlands (n=131) | Overall (n=310) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 29.3 (5.8) | 24.0 (8.2) | 27.1 (7.4)* |
| Gender (female) (%) | 100 (55.9) | 84 (64.1) | 184 (59.4) |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 24.8 (5.1) | 23.0 (3.7) | 24.0 (4.6)* |
| Work status (%) | |||
| Not employed | 28 (15.6) | 52 (40.9) | 80 (25.8)* |
| Sedentary | 100 (55.9) | 28 (21.4) | 128 (41.3) |
| Active | 50 (27.9) | 47 (35.9) | 97 (31.3) |
| Unknown | 1 (0.6) | 4 (3.1) | 5 (1.6) |
| Sport participant (%) | 118 (65.9) | 102 (77.9) | 220 (71.0)* |
| Duration of knee pain (%) | |||
| 1–2 months | 8 (4.5) | 50 (38.2) | 58 (18.7)* |
| 2–6 months | 17 (9.5) | 39 (29.8) | 56 (18.1) |
| 6–12 months | 30 (16.8) | 19 (14.5) | 49 (15.8) |
| >12 months | 120 (67.0) | 23 (17.6) | 143 (46.1) |
| Unknown | 4 (2.2) | ||
| Bilateral pain (%) | 102 (57.0) | 79 (60.3) | 181 (58.4) |
| Allocated preferred treatment | |||
| Not allocated | 66 (36.9%) | 52 (39.7%) | 118 (38.1%) |
| Allocated | 55 (30.7%) | 50 (38.2%) | 105 (33.9%) |
| No treatment preference | 38 (21.2%) | 28 (21.4%) | 66 (21.3%) |
| Unknown | 20 (11.2%) | 1 (0.8%) | 21 (6.8%) |
| Recruitment (health professional), % | 2 (1.1%) | 131 (100%) | 133 (43.3%)* |
| Usual or resting pain (VAS/100) | 36.3 (16.6) | 40.8 (22.8) | 38.2 (19.5) |
| Worst or activity-related pain (VAS/100) | 60.5 (15.9) | 61.5 (22.1) | 60.9 (18.7) |
| Symptoms and function (AKP Scale/100) | 71.5 (9.8) | 65.1 (14.5) | 68.8 (12.4)* |
| Function (FIQ/16) | 9.8 (2.1) | 9.5 (2.5) | 9.7 (2.3) |
| Treatment | |||
| Usual care | – | 66 (50.4%) | 66 (21.3%) |
| Exercise therapy | – | 65 (49.6%) | 65 (21.0%) |
| Physiotherapy | 45 (25.1%) | – | 45 (14.5%) |
| Foot orthoses | 46 (25.7%) | – | 46 (14.8%) |
| Flat inserts | 44 (24.6%) | – | 44 (14.2%) |
| Physiotherapy+foot orthoses | 44 (24.6%) | – | 44 (14.2%) |
*Significant difference between RCTs (p<0.05).
AKP, Anterior Knee Pain; BMI, body mass index; FIQ, Functional Index Questionnaire; RCT, randomised controlled trial; VAS, visual analogue scale.