Back Pain clinical trials at UCSD

The purpose of this study is to see if mindfulness, a form of mental training, or listening to a book alters brain activation in response to raising your leg that may produce the feeling of pain. A technique called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) allows scientists to determine which parts of the brain are active during a particular task. This study will provide new information about how mindfulness affects the brain.

The BEST Trial (Biomarkers for Evaluating Spine Treatments) is a NIAMS-sponsored clinical trial being conducted through the NIH HEAL Initiative's Back Pain Consortium (BACPAC) Research Program. The primary objective of this trial is to inform a precision medicine approach to the treatment of Chronic Low-Back Pain by estimating an algorithm for optimally assigning treatments based on an individual's phenotypic markers and response to treatment. Interventions being evaluated in this trial are: (1) enhanced self-care (ESC), (2) acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), (3) evidence-based exercise and manual therapy (EBEM), and (4) duloxetine.

SpineZone is an innovative physical therapy program with its focus on treatment of cervical, thoracic, and lumbar conditions through the use of a multi-disciplinary, technology enabled platform. Standard physical therapy modalities including psychologically informed physical therapy are employed in addition to online coaching with a fundamental tenant of core strengthening. Treatments are tracked and modified in a multi-disciplinary format taking all radiographic studies into direct consideration. The goal of this study is to utilize a registry of participants undergoing either in-clinic or online rehabilitation treatment for spine pain at the SpineZone clinical in order to understand the clinical outcomes and costs of different rehabilitation modalities in this patient population.