Melatonin for patients with chronic low back pain - a randomized placebo-controlled trial

NCT ID NCT06859957

What the study statuses mean

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Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing This study
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Sep 09, 2026 · Last updated Sep 09, 2026

Summary

Low back pain is one of the conditions causing more disability worldwide. The use of pain medications is substantial in patients with chronic LBP. But the efficacy of commonly used analgesics is modest. More than half of patients with chronic LBP also has sleep problems. In recent years, some preliminary studies have shown a promising effect of melatonin for the treatment of pain. The objective of this study is to investigate the efficacy of melatonin, relative to placebo, in patients with chronic LBP.

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

Phase 3

Large-scale testing in a bigger group. Usually the last step before a treatment can be approved.

Participants

222 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Apr 2025

Expected to finish

Dec 2026

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

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

18 to 65 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show 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: * age 18-65 * understand and write Dutch * LBP for 3 months or longer * LBP must be present on 'most days' or 'every day' within the past 3 months * LBP must limit life or work activities on 'some days', 'most days', or 'every day' within the past 3 months * average LBP intensity of ≥4 on a 0-10 NRS in the past 7 days Exclusion Criteria: * LBP resulting from a specific cause such as malignancy, fracture, lumbar radiculopathy and spinal stenosis * Radiating pain into the leg that goes further (down) than the knee * Inflammatory/autoimmune arthritis * Severe physical or psychiatric co-morbidities * Contraindications to melatonin

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As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Erasmus MC

    Rotterdam, Netherlands

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