Can gentle back vibration reset the Brain's pain response?
NCT ID NCT07801729
First seen Sep 03, 2026 · Last updated Sep 04, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This trial tests whether different settings of lumbar vibration can change how the brain's sensory cortex responds in office workers with chronic low back pain. Participants receive eight random combinations of vibration frequency, amplitude, and direction while researchers measure brain activity with a non-invasive imaging technique. The goal is to find the vibration parameters that produce a favorable and consistent brain response, which could guide future treatments for back pain.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Lumbar sensory stimulation via a customized vibration device
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a non-drug, device-based way to ease chronic low back pain in people who sit for long hours.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early crossover study focused on brain responses, not pain relief. The vibration may not produce a consistent effect or translate into real-world benefit.
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 36 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Jan 2027
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Dec 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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20 to 60 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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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 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: * Office workers who currently sit for at least 6 hours per workday. * Age 20-60 years. * Chronic nonspecific low back pain for at least 3 months. * Current pain intensity of at least 2/10 on the Numeric Pain Rating Scale. Exclusion Criteria: * History of seizure for either the subject or any family member * Implanted pacemaker * Contraindications for TMS and fNIRS, including open wound, infection, lesions, arteriosclerosis, history of hemophilia, or demand-type pacemaker * Acute cerebral hemorrhage * History of major spinal surgery, fracture, or traumatic injury to the lumbar spine. * Evidence of neurological deficits (e.g., radiculopathy, loss of sensation, or motor weakness in lower limbs). * Diagnosis of systemic inflammatory conditions (e.g., Ankylosing Spondylitis, Rheumatoid Arthritis). * Allergy to adhesives or history of severe skin sensitivity to vibration/mechanical pressure. * Body Mass Index (BMI) \> 30 kg/m2 (to ensure clarity of RUSI, dEMG, and fNIRs signal quality). * Pregnancy (due to changes in spinal biomechanics and hormones)
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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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Faculty of Physical Therapy, Mahidol University
Salaya, Changwat Nakhon Pathom, 73170, Thailand
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