Can online exercise rewire the brain for back pain relief?
NCT ID NCT07497425
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Aug 20, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This study looks at how a 12-week online exercise program changes the body and brain in people with chronic low back pain. Researchers will compare exercise participants to a waitlist group and also study healthy volunteers. Participants will fill out surveys, give blood samples, and have brain scans to understand immune and brain activity changes.
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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 216 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 2029
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 75 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
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-CLBP patients: * Have a diagnosis of chronic primary LBP, according to the criteria established by NIH Task Force on Research Standards for CLBP (Deyo et al., 2015). This will be determined by 1) the response to the National Institutes of Health minimum dataset for CLBP (NIH-md), including that LBP has been persistent for at least 3 months or recurrent for at least half of the days in the past 6 months, and 2) the results of a complete case history and physical examination (including functional tasks, quantitative sensory testing, and, if needed, neuro-orthopedic, palpation and range of motion assessments); * Report a CLBP intensity of at least 4 in a 0-10 numerical rating scale (0 = no pain, 10 = maximum possible pain). Inclusion Criteria-Healthy controls: \- Be over 18 years and under 75 years of age; Exclusion Criteria-CLBP patients: * Present any red flags indicative of serious pathology comorbid or as the cause of CLBP (Finucane et al., 2020); * Have a CLBP phenotype characterized by predominant nociceptive (as in fracture, infection, malignancy, inflammatory or rheumatic spondyloarthropathy, cauda equina syndrome, confirmed by MRI when suspected) or neuropathic pain mechanisms, the latter assessed through score in the DN4 questionnaire (Nijs, et al., 2024); * Present chronic or acute pain of higher intensity or perceived disability in any other body site than the low back; * Medical history of diabetes, neurological or psychiatric disorder; * Presence of significant cardiorespiratory problems or any other potential contraindications to physical exercise as assessed through the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire for Everyone (PAR-Q+); * Following a regular structured PE training program (\>60 min/week) at study's onset, and; * Presence of any contraindications to MRI examination (including any metallic implants or devices, being pregnant, and claustrophobia). Exclusion criteria-Healthy controls: * Have symptoms or a diagnosis of any acute or chronic pain conditions; * Medical history of diabetes, neurological or psychiatric disorder; * Presence of significant cardiorespiratory problems or any other potential contraindications to physical exercise as assessed through the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire for Everyone (PAR-Q+); * Following a regular structured PE training program (\>60 min/week) at study's onset, and; * Presence of any contraindications to MRI examination (including any metallic implants or devices, being pregnant, and claustrophobia).
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Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
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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Montreal General Hospital
RECRUITINGMontreal, Quebec, H3H 1V6, Canada
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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