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NCT Number: NCT06654739

RCT on the Performance and Safety of LightForce® Therapy Lasers on Knee Osteoarthritis Pain Reduction (SPARK)

DJO UK Ltd (ENOVIS) is conducting this study to assess the effectiveness of LightForce® Therapy Lasers on pain reduction in subjects with unilateral or bilateral knee osteoarthritis. In detail this study will assess superiority of LightForce® Therapy Lasers combined with standard of care, represented by physiotherapy/exercise program compared to sham laser combined with standard of care (physiotherapy/exercise program) on pain reduction in subjects with knee osteoarthritis. In addition, this study allows to collect post market clinical data on the safety and performance of LightForce® Therapy Lasers, when used, following the normal clinical practice, in accordance with its approved and CE marked intended use.

Active, Not Recruiting

This study is active but is not currently recruiting participants.

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Key information

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Cabinet d'Ostéopathie, Grésy-sur-Aix, France

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About this study

This clinical investigation is a post-market, International, multi center, prospective, randomized, sham controlled, single blind study to assess the effectiveness of LightForce® Therapy Lasers and to collect PMCF data on the safety and performance of LightForce® Therapy Lasers, when used in accordance with its approved labeling, to comply with Medical Device Regulation (EU) 2017/745 (MDR) Article 61 and Part B of Annex XI.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Patient male or female with age ≥18 years old
  • Patient with radiographic diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis (as confirmed by x- ray or CT scan) to be treated by LightForce® Therapy Lasers according its indications.
  • Patient with Kellgren and Lawrence grade 2-3 unilateral or bilateral knee osteoarthritis
  • Patient suffering from knee osteoarthritis pain for more than 6 months prior to enrollment
  • Pain (either persistent or during activities) score reported by the subject at baseline ≥ 40 mm measured on VAS
  • Patient able to provide written informed consent
  • Patient with BMI ≤30 kg/m2
  • For FRANCE ONLY: To be affiliated to the social security system or to be beneficiary of such system

Exclusion criteria

  • Patient with musculoskeletal pathological conditions not to be treated with/contraindication to the use of LightForce® Therapy Lasers according to its intended use and indications
  • Patients who are taking drugs that have heat or light sensitive contraindications, such as but not limited to certain types of steroids
  • Patients who are administered with corticosteroids, should discontinue the treatment at least 2 weeks prior to study treatment start
  • Pregnant females or females of childbearing potentially planning to become pregnant during the study participation
  • Patients who had inflammatory arthritis (i.e. rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis)
  • Patients who underwent intra-articular injection (Ialuronic acid, platelet rich plasma or corticosteroids) in the knee in the last 6 months
  • Patients who have a disease that would limit their participation in exercises (i.e. severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, severe heart failure, cerebrovascular event history)
  • Patients who have hip or ankle/foot joint pathology that might interfere with participation in exercises/knee recovery
  • Patients with a diagnosis of active cancer
  • Patients with tattoos covering more than 30% of the area to be treated with LightForce® Therapy Lasers
  • Patients who are mentally or physically incapacitated
  • Patient participating in other clinical study or has completed a clinical study less than 30 days prior to enrollment
  • Patients with other musculoskeletal problems of the knee joint such as tendon or ligament injury, recent surgery, recent fracture, or recent meniscus injury and/or undergoing to specific physiotherapy for these ("recent" is defined as within 30 days prior to enrollment)
  • Patients with other clinically significant co-morbidities that make the patient unsuitable for study participation, at the discretion of the investigator.

Treatment and study plan

Laser therapy + physiotherapy/exercise protocol

Device

laser therapy + standard of care (SOC) represented by physiotherapy/exercise protocol (program includes kinesitherapy, range of motion (ROM) exercises, stretching, strengthening, and flexibility exercises) for 6 consecutive weeks, for a minimum of 2 sessions per week

Sham Laser therapy + physiotherapy/exercise protocol

Device

sham laser therapy + standard of care (SOC) represented by physiotherapy/exercise protocol (program includes kinesitherapy, range of motion (ROM) exercises, stretching, strengthening, and flexibility exercises) for 6 consecutive weeks, for a minimum of 2 sessions per week

Primary outcomes

  1. Pain change

    Time frame: 6 weeks after treatment start

    Pain reduction measured with Visual Analog Scale (VAS) (0-100 mm) after 6 weeks of treatment compared to pre-treatment (baseline) VAS

Secondary outcomes

  1. Safety - adverse event rate

    Time frame: through study completion, an average of 12 weeks

    Proportion of patient experiencing an adverse event associated with device use

Other outcomes

  1. pain change

    Time frame: 2, 4, 9 and 12 after treatment start

    Pain measured with Visual Analog Scale (VAS) (0-100 mm) at 2, 4, 9 and 12 weeks after treatment start to assess short-term and long-term pain management compared to baseline

  2. Joint stiffness and function

    Time frame: 2, 4, 6 ans 12 weeks after treatment start

    Joint stiffness and function measured with KOOS - Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score [that consists of five sub-scales: Pain (nine items); Symptoms (seven items); ADL Function (17 items); Sport and Recreation Function (five items)]; Quality of Life (four items) for a totoal of 42 items. KOOS max score is 100 and minimum is 0 where zero representing extreme knee problems and 100 representing no knee problem. KOOS will be assessed at 2, 4, 6 and at 12 weeks and compared to baseline.

  3. Patient overall status change

    Time frame: 2, 4, 6 ans 12 weeks after treatment start

    Patient ratings of overall improvement, assessed by QoL (SF-12): The SF-12 is a self-reported outcome measure assessing the impact of health on an individual's everyday life. The SF-12 uses 12 items and scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better physical and mental health functioning. SF-12 will be assessed at 2, 4, 6 weeks and at 12 weeks and compared to baseline

  4. Physical function

    Time frame: 2, 4, 6 and 12 weeks after treatment start

    Physical functional test (30 seconds chair-rise test) assessed at 2, 4, 6 and at 12 weeks, compared to baseline.

  5. pain change

    Time frame: 18 weeks after treatment start

    pain measured with Visual Analog Scale (VAS) (0-100 mm) to assess post study pain change (for those patients who did not initiate a new treatment for knee osteoarthritis pain after week 12 and within week 18)

  6. rate of patients needed new treatment

    Time frame: 18 weeks after treatment start

    Patients will be asked through a questionnaire whether any new treatment and in case which one (pharmacological, physiotherapic etc) was needed to manage knee osteoarthritis pain since12 weeks after treatment start

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

DJO UK Ltd

Industry

Collaborators

  • Donawa Lifescience Consulting S.r.l.

Registry information

Official study title

Randomized, Sham Controlled, Single Blind Study on the Performance and Safety of Photo Biomodulation Therapy (PBMT) With LightForce® Therapy Lasers on Knee Osteoarthritis Pain Reduction

Acronym: SPARK

Important dates

Study start
2024
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
Oct 23, 2024
Registry last updated
Nov 17, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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