Brain zaps and exercise: new hope for veterans' stubborn back pain?
NCT ID NCT06999772
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether adding a non-invasive brain stimulation technique (rTMS) to a special type of physiotherapy can better reduce chronic low back pain and disability in military veterans. About 96 veterans with long-lasting back pain and high emotional distress will receive either real or fake brain stimulation alongside their therapy sessions. The goal is to see if this combination improves physical function and pain more than therapy alone.
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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 96 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jun 2025
- 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 65 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: * Adults between 18 and 65 years old * Military Veterans with non-specific chronic low back pain (\> 3 months, \> 50% of the days in the last 6 months) * High level of psychosocial factors, scoring ≥4 on the Start Back Screening Tool * Functional limitations, scoring ≥ 15% on the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) Exclusion Criteria: * Non-musculoskeletal conditions causing low back pain (e.g., neoplasia, fracture) * Diagnosis of drug or alcohol abuse * Change of drug dosage in the last month for the treatment of pain or mental health * Presenting with any specific rTMS-related exclusion criteria such as previous seizure/convulsion, cochlear implant, and pregnancy
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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
2 sites. 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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Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation et intégration sociale (CIRRIS)
RECRUITINGQuébec, Quebec, G1M 2S8, Canada
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Cirris (Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche en Réadaptation et Intégration Sociale)
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGQuébec, Quebec, G1M 2S8, Canada
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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