Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT02757378

Manual Therapy as a Form of Sensory Discrimination in Chronic Low Back Pain

This study evaluates whether different explanations given to patients with long lasting back pain influence a physical therapy treatment technique. Half of the patients will receive an explanation of the proposed treatment technique focusing on how their joints are moving and not moving. The second half of the group will receive the same treatment technique as the first group, but their explanation of the technique's purpose will focus on how their brain interprets the information. The study aims to determine if patients have a different response to the treatment based on the words chosen to explain the technique.

Completed

Looking for future studies?

Notify Me

Key information

Conditions

Low Back Pain Back Pain Neurologic Manifestations Pain Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Signs and Symptoms

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Rock Valley Physical Therapy, Moline, Illinois, United States

Loading trial locations.

About this study

Traditional treatment provided by physical therapists to patients with chronic low back pain focuses on the biomechanical or anatomical impact to local tissues. Recent research has shown that treatment effects may be more related to the understanding of the structural and functional changes in the brain of someone suffering from chronic low back pain. This research implicates that the patients understanding and interpretation of input to the brain may change the patient's perceived representation and interpretation of output of pain within the brain.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Adults over the age of 18
  • Presenting at Physical Therapy with a primary complaint of Low Back Pain
  • Low Back Pain being present for 6 months or more
  • Fluent in English and willing to participate in the study.

Exclusion criteria

  • Medical precautions to the use of manual therapy (metal, skin lesions, etc.)
  • Prior spine surgery
  • Unable to lay prone for the treatment.

Treatment and study plan

Neuroplasticity Explanation (Experimental)

Procedure

Patients were given an explanation of how the brain uses the information from a manual therapy technique to help it remain sharp in identifying where this input is coming from.

Biomechanical Explanation (Control)

Procedure

Patients were given an explanation of how the manual therapy technique affects the anatomy and physiology of the back.

Primary outcomes

  1. Low back pain rating change

    Time frame: Within a single, one hour session

    Change, measured within a single, one hour session, of baseline measurements taken, followed immediately by the education / treatment, followed immediately by post-education / treatment measurement of the patient's pain in low back on a numeric pain rating scale of 0 to 10

  2. Leg pain rating

    Time frame: Within a single, one hour session

    Change, measured within a single, one hour session, of baseline measurements taken, followed immediately by the education / treatment, followed immediately by post-education / treatment measurement, level of patient's leg pain on a numeric pain rating scale of 0 to 10.

  3. Active trunk forward flexion

    Time frame: Within a single, one hour session

    Change, measured within a single, one hour session, of baseline measurements taken, followed immediately by the education / treatment, followed immediately by post-education / treatment measurement of distance from longest finger to the floor when patient bends forward (in cm).

  4. Straight Leg Raise

    Time frame: Within a single, one hour session

    Change, measured within a single, one hour session, of baseline measurements taken, followed immediately by the education / treatment, followed immediately by post-education / treatment measurement of angle to which the patient's most affected leg can be lifted (measured in degrees using an inclinometer).

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Kevin Farrell

Other

Registry information

Official study title

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Manual Therapy as a Form of Sensory Discrimination in Chronic Low Back Pain

Important dates

Study start
2015
Primary completion
2015
Study completion
2015
First posted
May 2, 2016
Registry last updated
May 2, 2016

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.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.