Randomized trial demonstrates better outcomes for digital health applications in patellofemoral pain compared to physiotherapy, suggesting alternatives in treatment.
Patellar pathologies are a common manifestation of musculoskeletal disorders. Digital health applications (DiGA), such as Mawendo, offer an alternative therapeutic approach to physiotherapy. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the DiGA-Mawendo compared to conventional physiotherapy in patients with patellofemoral pain, based on the KOOS subscales. A total of 253 participants were randomly assigned to either a DiGA or physiotherapy group over a period of 12 weeks. The primary endpoints were the KOOS subscales, which were analyzed descriptively and using ANCOVA models. DiGA-Mawendo showed significantly better outcomes in all subscales, exceeding the minimum clinically important difference (MCID) in each case. DiGA demonstrated a clinically relevant, multidimensional therapeutic effect across all subscales. Its flexible use and high effectiveness support its complementary role in healthcare delivery.
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Hinz et al. (2025) studied this question.
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