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Chronic Low Back PainNCT04249453

Lower Back Biomechanics in Veterans With Non-Specific Low Back Pain

An observational study of Chronic Low Back Pain, run by VA Office of Research and Development at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

Low back pain (LBP) is strongly associated with opioid consumption among Veterans, and improved clinical management of LBP is likely to reduce reliance on opioid among Veterans. Up to 60% of patients with an acute episode of nonspecific LBP experience either symptom persistence or symptom relapse within one year. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 21 to 70 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Chronic Low Back Pain
How many people
23 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
15 Jan 2021to 14 Dec 2022
Phase
Observational
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 21 to 70 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult, Older adult

Study population: The investigators will recruit 54 gender-balanced veterans in the following three groups: 1) with chronic, non-specific LBP and a Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) score of >12 (n=18), 2) with chronic, non-specific LBP and a RMDQ score of =12 (n=18), 3) asymptomatic and no a recent history of non-specific LBP (n=18; serving as control group)

Who may be able to join

  • Age between 21 and 70 years old
  • Body mass index between 22 and 32

Who cannot join

  • Any spinal surgery [e.g., spinal fusion surgery]
  • Any abnormalities in lower extremity joints due to disease or injury that would likely affects lower back mechanics [e.g., lower limb amputation or peripheral arterial disease]
  • Any safety concern [e.g., pregnancy]
  • Any medical condition for which we can't determine the impact of the investigators' experimental procedures. [e.g., we don't know whether our measurement instrument will affect pacemakers.]
  • Can't complete the tolerability tests for sudden perturbation and stress-relaxation (see description given under "Risk versus benefits")]
  • Inability to read or verbally comprehend English
  • Unwilling or unable to comply with study protocol
  • Retention of legal advice or an open / pending legal case related to LBP

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • Lexington VA Medical Center, Lexington, KY

    Lexington, Kentucky, 40502

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: The Assessment of Lower Back Mechanical Behavior and Spinal Loads in Veterans With Non-specific Low Back Pain: a Feasibility Study

Low back pain (LBP) is strongly associated with opioid consumption among Veterans, and improved clinical management of LBP is likely to reduce reliance on opioid among Veterans. Up to 60% of patients with an acute episode of nonspecific LBP experience either symptom persistence or symptom relapse within one year. This is likely an indication of a failure in addressing the underlying mechanisms of pain or initiation of a new etiology; both may stem from a mismatch between patients and treatments. The overall goal of this research is to develop, validate and implement measures that are relevant to known mechanisms of LBP, which can then be used to holistically gauge the health status of patients' lower backs beyond self-reporting of symptoms. More accurate measurements will help better match of patients with existing treatments or development of more effective new treatments. The specific objective of this study is to generate evidence in support of the feasibility of the investigators' methods for 1) the evaluation of relative contribution of lower back tissues to spinal loads, and 2) the investigation of the resultant spinal loads in Veterans with non-specific LBP. The investigators have developed a powerful set of tools for the comprehensive assessment of spinal loads and lower back mechanical behavior (MB), that will enable the investigators to examine the existence or development of abnormalities in spinal loads and lower back MB in three groups of Veterans with different experiences with non-specific LBP. These groups will include 1) Veterans with chronic, non-specific LBP and high level of disability (n=18), 2) Veterans with chronic, non-specific LBP and low level of disability (n=18), 3) asymptomatic Veterans without a recent history of non-specific LBP (n=18; serving as control group). Successful completion of this feasibility project will pave the way for future studies (merit grant applications) that will verify the role of abnormalities in lower back MB and spinal loads in the clinical presentation of LBP. Such an understanding has the potential to help the affected Veterans with disabling non-specific LBP. Specifically, measures of lower back MB and spinal loads can be used not only to identify Veterans with mechanical abnormalities in their lower back who are likely to experience LBP in the future, but also to guide novel integrated physical and psychological preventative treatments aimed at improved lower back mechanics. Ultimately, the goal and resultant improvement in clinical outcomes of treatment for non-specific LBP is to diminish reliance on opioids for the symptom management of particularly Veterans with chronic LBP.

Read the detailed description

Specific Aims

The specific objective of this study is to generate evidence in support of the feasibility of the investigators' developed methods for the evaluation of 1) relative contribution of lower back tissues to spinal loads, and 2) the resultant spinal loads experienced during daily activities in Veterans with non-specific LBP. Results of this feasibility study will enable proper design of the investigators' future projects, wherein the investigators will investigate the role of spinal loads experienced in daily life activities in clinical presentation of LBP. The investigators have developed several innovative computational and experimental methods for a comprehensive and personalized assessment of spinal loads. Specifically, the relative mechanical contribution of active and passive lower back tissues to spinal loads is assessed using advanced measures of bulk lower back mechanical behavior (MB), whereas muscular responses to physical demands of daily activities and the resultant spinal loads are evaluated using the investigators' finite element model of human spine. The investigators have used the methods proposed in this application extensively for evaluation of bulk lower back MB and spinal loads in asymptomatic individuals. This project will demonstrate the sensitivity of the measures for capturing abnormalities in lower back MB and spinal loads in patients with nonspecific LBP by completing the following two aims to achieve the investigators' objective:

Aim-1: Feasibility of distinguishing potential differences in lower back MB between Veterans with different LBP experiences. The investigators will characterize lower back MB in three gender-balanced groups of Veterans between 20 and 70 years old. These will include Veterans with 1) chronic LBP and a Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) score of >12 (n=18), 2) chronic LBP and RMDQ score of 12 (n=18), 3) no recent history of LBP and currently asymptomatic (n=18), serving as control group). Participants will be recruited from the population served by the Lexington, KY, VA Medical Center. The investigators will determine passive stiffness of the lower back and its relaxation along with its active intrinsic and reflexive mechanical properties, using the sudden perturbation and stress-relaxations tests. Given the reported differences in trunk neuromuscular behavior and lumbo-pelvic coordination, the investigators expect to see differences in the measures between patient groups targeted for this project.

Aim-2: Feasibility of distinguishing potential differences in spinal loads between Veterans with different LBP experiences. Trunk muscle forces and the resultant spinal loads will be determined in the same participant groups when they perform common activities of daily living like walking and manual material handling. Considering the causal role of spinal loads, and given the persistence of symptom in patients with chronic LBP, along with the high risk of LBP recurrence in patients with non-chronic LBP and those with a recent history of LBP, the investigators expect differences in spinal loads between patient groups.

Research Procedures:

Participants deemed eligible will complete one data collection session during which they will first be instrumented with sensors to enable measurement of kinematics and muscle activity, similar to procedures the investigators used in earlier studies. Specifically, wireless inertial measurement units (Xsens MTW, Xsens Technologies, Enschede, Netherlands) will be used to measure rotations of the thorax and pelvis, and surface EMG electrodes will be used to measure the activity of erector spinae, rectus abdominis, internal and external obliques. Participants will then be asked to stand on a force plate and perform a forward bending and backward return test. Participants will be instructed to bend from an upright standing posture to their maximum comfortable forward bending posture and then return to the upright posture at a self-selected pace. Participants will then be instructed to perform the following activities of daily life at a self-selected pace: walking on level and sloped surfaces, sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit motions, and lowering and lifting a 10 lb load to their knee height. These activities have been selected because they represent basic but repetitive activities of daily life, and the investigators have successfully used them in earlier investigation of spinal loads among asymptomatic non-Veterans, as well as persons with unilateral lower limb amputation. Finally, sudden perturbation followed by stress-relaxation tests will be conducted as in earlier studies and as explained below. Each of the above tests will take less than 5 minutes, and the investigators will provide break periods between each set of tests to minimize fatigue and discomfort.

In preparation for future projects, the investigators will also administer the following questionnaires that are relevant to LBP experience during the data collection session: 1) comprehensive health status using the PROMIS-29 questionnaire (all participants), 2) survey of habitual physical activity (all participants), 3) the short version of Copenhagen Psychosocial questionnaire concerning work and non-work-related factors (all participants), 4) the minimum data set recommended by the NIH task force on research standards for chronic LBP (only Veterans with LBP), 5) pain intensity using a numerical rating scale (only Veterans with LBP), 6) LBP-related disability using the 24-item Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (only Veterans with LBP), 7) the fear-avoidance beliefs questionnaire (only Veterans with LBP). Total time for the entire data collection session, including the instrumentation time, is estimated to be less than 3 hours.

Keywords
Back pain, Lumbar spine, Biomechanics, Spinal loads
Medical subject headings
Back Pain

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

Study groups in NCT04249453
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Chronic low back pain with high disabilityVeterans with chronic, non-specific LBP and a Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) score of >12 (gender-balanced, n1=18)
Chronic low back pain with low disabilityVeterans with chronic, non-specific LBP and a RMDQ score of 12 (gender-balanced, n2=18)
ControlsAsymptomatic veterans with no recent history of LBP (gender-balanced, n3=18)

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Estimates of Spinal load from finite element model

    The maximum spinal load experienced at the L5-S1 level during each activity. This measure is estimated by our finite element model. The input to the model will be measurements of trunk and pelvis motion

    Measured: Within a week of data collection for each participant, 12-18 month for all participants

  2. Reflex delay calculated using measurements of muscle EMG and trunk kinetics

    Latency of reflexive response of trunk muscles to sudden perturbations. This measure will be calculated using a system identification and by relating measured muscle activities (EMG) and trunk kinetics.

    Measured: Within a week of data collection for each participant, 12-18 month for all participants

  3. Intrinsic stiffness calculated using measurements of trunk kinetics and kinematics

    Intrinsic stiffness refers to aspects of lower back mechanical behavior that are quantified during the reflex delay period (i.e., between perturbation onset and reflexive muscle response), and which incorporate both passive and active contributions of lower back tissues.

    Measured: Within a week of data collection for each participant, 12-18 month for all participants

  4. Reflexive force calculated using measurements of muscle EMG and trunk kinetics

    The maximum value of reflexive response of trunk muscles to sudden perturbations. To obtain the maximum reflexive force, the reflexive responses of lower back will be estimated by subtracting the intrinsic response from the measured trunk response (i.e., reaction force from load cell) over a time window between the end of latency period and 150 msec post perturbation.

    Measured: Within a week of data collection for each participant, 12-18 month for all participants

  5. Passive stiffness calculated using measurements of trunk kinetics and kinematics

    Average stiffness of lower back obtained from the stress-relaxation test.

    Measured: Within a week of data collection for each participant, 12-18 month for all participants

  6. Viscoelastic relaxation calculated using measurements of trunk kinetics and kinematics

    The amount of relaxation in passive resistance of lower back during the stress-relaxation test.

    Measured: Within a week of data collection for each participant, 12-18 month for all participants

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted31 Jan 2020
  2. Study start15 Jan 2021
  3. Primary completion13 Dec 2022
  4. Study completion14 Dec 2022

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Observational
Observational model
Case-control
Time perspective
Cross-sectional
Enrolment
23 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT04249453
Sponsor's protocol ID
F3300-P
Status last verified
Oct 2024
First submitted
29 Jan 2020
Last updated
1 Nov 2024
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

An observational study of Chronic Low Back Pain, run by VA Office of Research and Development at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 8 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 1 Nov 2024. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Estimates of Spinal load from finite element model (time frame: Within a week of data collection for each participant, 12-18 month for all participants). The study lists 6 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 1 Nov 2024.

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