Can a walking test reveal why back pain persists?
NCT ID NCT07806253
First seen Sep 08, 2026 · Last updated Sep 09, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
Researchers are studying how back muscles behave during walking in people with chronic low back pain compared to those without pain. They measure muscle stiffness, thickness, and electrical activity while participants walk at increasing speeds. The goal is to understand how these factors relate to pain and movement, which could lead to more personalized exercise advice for recovery.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Supervised progressive walking test
- What this could lead to
- If this study succeeds, it could help doctors tailor physical activity advice for people with chronic low back pain, potentially improving their return to sport and daily movement.
- What could go wrong
- This is an observational study with a small group, so it may not capture all variations. The findings might not directly change treatment, and individual responses to walking can differ.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 60 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Sep 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Sep 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 65 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
\- Inclusion criteria for CNSLBP participants Adult aged 18 to 65 years (inclusive) Have freely given written informed consent Present with pain located between the thoracolumbar junction and the inferior gluteal fold, with or without pain in one or both legs This pain must have been present for more than 12 weeks, on a daily or near-daily basis (at least 4 days out of 7) Participants must not be undergoing any treatment, or must have been on a stable analgesic treatment for at least 2 weeks prior to inclusion in the study Must not have performed, in the 72 hours preceding participation in the study, any unusual intense physical activity (e.g., carrying a heavy load (\> 25 kg), sporting activity) likely to transiently alter muscle activity or the mechanical properties of the tissues studied \- Non-inclusion criteria for CNSLBP participants Known contraindications or limitations to walking Cardiovascular risk factors (uncontrolled high blood pressure, poorly controlled diabetes or diabetes with complications, severe untreated dyslipidemia), or heart disease contraindicating physical activity Ongoing litigation following a workplace accident Any form of specific low back pain, with an identified cause or secondary to an underlying condition, including in particular: Pain related to a cancer diagnosis Spinal cord or cauda equina symptoms (pyramidal signs, coordination disorders, motor or sensory deficits, sphincter disorders, etc.) Pain following an infection (night sweats, fever, chills, intravenous drug abuse, immunodeficiency, recent surgery, urinary or skin infection, etc.) Recent or pathological fractures (road traffic accidents, history of osteoporosis, chronic corticosteroid use, advanced age, unexplained weight loss, fatigue, history of cancer, etc.) Inflammatory rheumatism (ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis, or other rheumatic diseases) Vascular problems (cold feet, diminished peripheral arterial pulse, etc.) Disabling radicular irradiation, at the investigator's discretion Participants must not have undergone an intensive rehabilitation program within the last 3 months, nor received physiotherapy, manual therapy, acupuncture, or any other type of manual medicine or bodywork treatment outside their usual care, within the 4 weeks preceding inclusion Severe, unstabilized psychiatric condition Person presenting with a pathology or orthopedic disorder affecting locomotion Recent spinal surgery (\< 3 months before the inclusion visit) Systemic corticosteroid use, or corticosteroid injection at the lumbar spine, within the last 3 months Muscle relaxant use in the week preceding the experiment \- Inclusion criteria for asymptomatic participants Adult aged 18 to 65 years (inclusive) Have freely given written informed consent Person presenting no form of low back pain and matching the age and male-to-female ratio characteristics of the CNSLBP group\* In accordance with Article L1121-8-1 of the French Public Health Code, participants must be affiliated to, or beneficiaries of, a social security scheme To ensure correspondence in terms of age and sex ratio between the CNSLBP group and the healthy group, the frequency of age and gender categories among CNSLBP participants will be used to build, by matching, the group of healthy participants. \- Non-inclusion criteria for asymptomatic participants Person reporting an ongoing chronic pain complaint or a history of significant chronic pain (≥ 4/10 for at least 6 months) (HAS, 2019) Person unable to perform the walking tasks studied without excessive discomfort or fatigue \- Non-inclusion criteria common to CNSLBP and asymptomatic participants Known contraindications or limitations to walking Cardiovascular risk factors (uncontrolled high blood pressure, poorly controlled diabetes or diabetes with complications, severe untreated dyslipidemia), or heart disease contraindicating physical activity Severe, unstabilized psychiatric condition Person presenting with a pathology or orthopedic disorder affecting locomotion (\*) Persons referred to in Articles L. 1121-5 to L. 1121-8 and L. 1121-12 of the French Public Health Code: Pregnant, parturient, or breastfeeding woman Person deprived of liberty by judicial or administrative decision Person hospitalized without consent and not subject to a legal protection measure, and person admitted to a healthcare or social institution for purposes other than research Person subject to an exclusion period for another study Adult subject to a legal protection measure (guardianship, conservatorship, or court protection), or adult unable to express consent and not subject to a protection measure
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University of Rennes 2
Rennes, 35000, France
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