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Mind over pain: imagining acupuncture may soothe chronic back pain

NCT ID NCT03765879

Symptom relief Sponsor: Massachusetts General Hospital Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

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 Results may not be published yet.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This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.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 Jul 21, 2026 · Last updated Jul 22, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This study tests whether watching a video of an avatar receiving acupuncture — and vividly imagining the treatment on oneself — can reduce chronic low back pain. Adults aged 18 to 60 with persistent back pain for over six months will either watch real or sham acupuncture imagery over six sessions. The goal is to see if this mental imagery technique can lower pain severity and improve daily function.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
Video-Guided Acupuncture Imagery Treatment (VGAIT) — watching an avatar receive acupuncture and vividly imagining the treatment on oneself
What this could lead to
If effective, this drug-free approach could offer a new way to manage chronic low back pain without needles or medication.
What could go wrong
This is an early study with only 80 participants, and the effect may be due to the placebo response or imagination alone.

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

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

About 80 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Feb 2019

Expected to finish

Oct 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 60 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: * Volunteers 18-60 years of age * Meet the Classification Criteria of the chronic low back pain (having low back pain for more than 6 months), as determined by the referring physician. * At least 4/10 clinical pain on the 11-point low back pain intensity scale. * Must have had a prior evaluation of their low back pain by a health care provider, which may have included radiographic studies. Documentation of this evaluation will be sought from Partners or outside medical records and kept in the subject's research record. * At least a 10th grade English-reading level; English can be a second language provided that the patients feel they understand all the questions used in the assessment measures. Exclusion Criteria: * Specific causes of back pain (e.g. cancer, fractures, infections), * Complicated back problems (e.g. prior back surgery, medico legal issues), * Possible contraindications for acupuncture (e.g. coagulation disorders, cardiac pacemakers, pregnancy, seizure disorder), and conditions that might confound longitudinal effects or interpretation of results (e.g. severe fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis). * Conditions making study participation difficult (eg, paralysis, psychoses, or other severe psychological problems as per the judgment of a study investigator during Session 1) * The intent to undergo surgery during the time of involvement in the study. * History of cardiac, respiratory, or nervous system disease that, in the investigator's judgment, precludes participation in the study because of a heightened potential for adverse outcome. For example: asthma or claustrophobia. * Unresolved medical legal/disability/workers compensation claims in connection with low back pain. * Active substance abuse disorder in the past 24 months, as determined by self-report and/or urine toxicology * Lacking the capacity to consent for oneself

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

Chronic Pain chronic pain syndrome

As listed by the trial registrant

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

Chronic pain

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Massachusetts General Hospital

    Charlestown, Massachusetts, 02129, United States

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