Ultrasound of the Thoracolumbar Fascia for Diagnosing Chronic Low Back Pain
TerminatedNot applicableNCT04843800
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Brief summary (from the registry)
It is estimated that 23% of Quebecers suffer from chronic low back pain, and that 12% are disabled by this condition. Despite medical advances, the origin of so-called 'nonspecific low back pain' remains enigmatic. Conventional imaging methods by computed tomography and magnetic resonance may provide information on vertebral structures. However, very often, they do not diagnose lesions that genuinely correlate with the patient's symptoms. The lack of accurate diagnosis limits the therapeutic management in these patients. Therefore, patients are increasingly turning to alternative and complementary medicine therapies (e.g., acupuncture, chiropractic , osteopathy, shiatsu) to relieve their pain. These therapies target painful areas of abnormal hardening in muscles of the lower back and aim to release the tension in these tissues to control pain. However, these painful areas and their resolution after manual therapy have yet to be demonstrated by means other than manual palpation. We will conduct a randomized controlled trial in chronic low back pain patients to examine the effects of acupuncture, chiropractic therapy and therapeutic massage on lower back muscular and connective tissues' physical properties using innovative ultrasound techniques.
Study details
- Official title
- Imaging Pain! Ultrasound-based Palpation and Visualization for Diagnosing Chronic Low Back Pain
- Conditions
- Interventions
- Sponsor
- Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM)
- Collaborators
- Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec
- Start date
- 2022-11-01
- Primary completion
- 2024-07-24
- Sex
- All
- Age range
- from 18 Years to 75 Years
- Results posted
- No results posted in this snapshot
- Countries
- Canada
- Total sites listed
- 1
Eligibility criteria
Show eligibility criteria (verbatim from the registry)
Inclusion Criteria: * Ongoing low back and/or referred pain (non-specific pattern) above or just below the gluteal fold of at least 3/10 on a numerical pain rating scale (NRS), for at least 3 months; * Pain has resulted in a problem on at least 50% of the days in the past 6 months; * Only use of oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for pain treatment in the 4 weeks before treatment; * Willingness to commit to treatment sessions (acupuncture, chiropractic therapy or therapeutic massage) and to follow-up visits. Exclusion Criteria: * Back pain attributable to a specific, recognizable, known pathology: 1. protrusion or prolapse of 1 or more intervertebral discs with concurrent neurological symptoms; 2. radicular pain (sciatica); 3. infectious spondylopathy; 4. low back pain caused by inflammatory, malignant, or autoimmune disease; 5. congenital deformation of the spine (except for slight lordosis or scoliosis); 6. compression fracture caused by osteoporosis; 7. spinal stenosis; 8. spondylolysis or spondylolisthesis; 9. Pregnancy; * History of spinal surgery; * History of pelvis or hip fractures; * Acupuncture, spinal manipulation or therapeutic massage for back pain within the past year; * Severe clotting disorders or anticoagulant therapy;
Canadian sites (1)
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov (US National Library of Medicine), snapshot October 2026. Check the registry for current recruiting status. Record: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04843800