The Effects of High-definition Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Balance Control in Older Adults With Chronic Low Back Pain
Enrolling by invitationNot applicableNCT06706479
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This study has no listed site in Canada in this snapshot. It is included as part of the worldwide chronic pain corpus.
Brief summary (from the registry)
The goal of this clinical trial is to investigate the effects and mechanisms of high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation over left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex on chronic low back pain and balance in older adults. The main questions it aims to answer are: Primary hypothesis 1: Active stimulation would have greater improvement in pain and balance, reduced left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation than sham stimulation. Primary hypothesis 2: Active stimulation would have enhanced functional connectivity than sham stimulation. Primary hypothesis 3: The balance improvement would be related to reduced pain, decreased left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation, enhanced functional connectivity, attention, and/or executive function. Participants will be randomly received a single-session of high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (active or sham stimulation). Before and immediately after the intervention, balance (semi-tandem stance and timed up-and-go test (TUG)) and cognitive (attention and executive function) tests will be assessed.
Study details
- Official title
- The Effects of High-definition Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Balance Control in Older Adults With Chronic Low Back Pain: a Randomized Controlled Trial
- Conditions
- Interventions
- Device: high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation
- Sponsor
- The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
- Start date
- 2024-12-10
- Primary completion
- 2025-12-01
- Sex
- All
- Age range
- from 60 Years to 85 Years
- Results posted
- No results posted in this snapshot
- Countries
- China
- Total sites listed
- 1
Eligibility criteria
Show eligibility criteria (verbatim from the registry)
Inclusion Criteria: * Aged 60-85 years; * With non-specific chronic low back pain that has no definitive diagnosis but lasted for at least 3 months, typically occurs in the area between the lower rib margins and the buttock creases; * With an average pain intensity over the last week to be ≥ 3 on an 11-point numerical rating scale (NRS) anchored with "no pain" at zero and "worst pain imaginable" at 10; * Have normal cognitive function (Hong Kong Montreal Cognitive Assessment ≥ 22); * Who agree to sign an informed consent form. Exclusion Criteria: * Inability to ambulate without assistance from another person or tools (e.g., canes or walkers); * Having specific causes of low back pain (e.g., spinal stenosis, lumbar disc herniation, spondylolisthesis, recent vertebral fracture, spinal infection); * Having other acute or overt musculoskeletal conditions in other parts of the body (e.g., fractures, severe pain, multiple joint pain (e.g., knee pain)); * History of lumbar or lower extremity surgery; * Receiving LBP treatment within the past one month or at present; * Have never received non-invasive brain stimulation (e.g., transcranial direct current stimulation, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, and transcranial alternating current stimulation) before.
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov (US National Library of Medicine), snapshot October 2026. Check the registry for current recruiting status. Record: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06706479