Mind over pain: new study tests Brain-Based therapy for back pain
NCT ID NCT04689646
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether mind-body techniques can help people with chronic back pain feel better and move more easily. Researchers will compare two different mind-body programs to usual care in 150 adults. The goal is to see if these approaches reduce pain-related disability and anxiety.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- mind-body techniques (behavioral intervention)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a non-drug way to manage chronic back pain and improve daily function.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage study with no blinding for the usual care group, and results may not apply to all types of chronic pain.
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 150 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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May 2021
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2027
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 67 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: * Adult patient 18 ≥ years old * Chronic back pain * Pain persistent for a minimum of 3 days a week for the past three months prior to enrollment * Willingness to consider mind-body intervention * At least score of 2 or more on Roland Disability Questionnaire * At least score of 3 or more back pain bothersomeness Exclusion Criteria: * Patients \< 18 years of age * Patients \> 67 years of age * Diagnosed organic disease as cause of pain, such as (but not limited) to malignancy, neurologic disorder (i.e., amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), cauda equina syndrome (note that pain related to disc disease is not an exclusion unless there are neurological impairments) * Patients with a diagnosis of significant psychiatric co-morbidities such as schizophrenia, dementia, and bipolar disorder
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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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Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
RECRUITINGBoston, Massachusetts, 02215, United States
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