New implant aims to ease stubborn back pain without major surgery
NCT ID NCT07558278
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jul 24, 2026 · Updated 3 times
Summary
This study tests a new device called the LINQ system, which is implanted through a small incision to fuse the sacroiliac joint. It compares the procedure to standard non-surgical treatments like medication and physical therapy. The trial will enroll 200 adults with chronic sacroiliac joint pain that hasn't responded to other treatments. The main goal is to see if the device provides better pain relief and safety over six months.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- LINQ system (bone allograft implant for sacroiliac fusion)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could offer a minimally invasive surgical option for people with chronic sacroiliac joint pain that hasn't improved with other treatments.
- What could go wrong
- This is a phase 4 trial, but it hasn't started recruiting yet. The surgery carries risks like infection or device problems, and it may not work better than non-surgical care.
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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Phase 4
Runs after approval, following long-term safety and how well the treatment works in everyday use.
- Participants
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About 200 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Jul 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Jul 2029
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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A company
The lead sponsor is a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical-device company.
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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21 years and older
- 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: * To be eligible to participate in this study, a subject must meet ALL of the following criteria, as determined by the Investigator: 1. Age and Body Mass Index (BMI) 1. Adult subjects aged ≥ 21 years at screening. 2. BMI ≤ 40. 2. Chronic SIJ-Related Pain 1. Has experienced low back and/or buttock pain for at least 6 months that has been inadequately responsive to non-surgical management. 2. Has experienced nonradicular pain that is maximal below the L5 vertebrae, localized over the posterior SIJ, and consistent with SIJ pain. 3. Diagnosis of SIJ Dysfunction a. Has a diagnosis of SIJ dysfunction (degenerative sacroiliitis or SIJ disruption) based on ALL of the following: i. A positive Fortin's finger test; and ii. Pain elicited at least three (3) of five (5) SIJ-specific physical examination maneuvers (FABER test, Gaenslen's test, Distraction, Thigh Thrust, Compression); and iii. At least 75% reduction in pain, with associated improvement in previously painful maneuvers, for the expected duration of action following two (2) image-guided, contrast-enhanced intra-articular diagnostic SIJ injections, performed on separate visits using anesthetics with different durations of action; and iv. Completion of at least one (1) therapeutic intra-articular SIJ injection (e.g., corticosteroid injection) within the past 12 months. 4. Baseline Disability and Pain Severity a. Baseline Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) score ≥30%; and b. Baseline SI joint pain score of ≥60 mm on a 100 mm Visual Analog Scale (VAS). 5. Nicotine Abstinence a. Is able and willing to completely avoid all forms of nicotine (including smoking, vaping, e-cigarettes, tobacco, or nicotine pouches) for the entire duration of the study. 6. Treatment Decision a. The treating physician has independently determined that the LINQ procedure is an appropriate treatment option for the subject's SIJ dysfunction in the course of routine clinical care, and the subject has agreed to undergo this treatment. 7. Informed Consent and Compliance 1. Is willing and capable of providing written informed consent; and 2. Is willing and able to comply with all study-related requirements, procedures, and follow-up visits. Exclusion Criteria: * Exclusion Criteria Subjects must meet none of the following criteria to be eligible for participation in this study, as determined by the Investigator: 1. Pain Source Uncertainty a. Inability to confirm, in the Investigator's clinical judgment, that the subject's primary pain generator is the sacroiliac joint. 2. Alternative Primary Spine Pathology a. Presence of severe low back pain attributable to other spinal pathology, including but not limited to lumbar disc degeneration, lumbar disc herniation, lumbar spondylolisthesis, lumbar spinal stenosis, lumbar facet degeneration, or lumbar vertebral body fracture. 3. Other Sacroiliac Pathology a. Presence of known sacroiliac joint pathology other than degenerative SIJ dysfunction, including inflammatory sacroiliitis (e.g., ankylosing spondylitis or other HLA-associated spondyloarthropathies), tumor, infection, acute fracture, or crystal arthropathy. 4. Non-SIJ Pain Syndromes a. History of coccydynia or prior coccygectomy, endometriosis, cluneal neuralgia, or pudendal neuralgia. 5. Recent Sacral Interventions a. Prior sacral radiofrequency ablation performed within 6 months prior to enrollment. 6. Recent Pelvic Trauma a. History of major pelvic trauma within 12 months prior to enrollment. 7. Severe Osteoporosis a. Prior diagnosis or suspicion of severe osteoporosis, defined as a prior bone mineral density T-score of \< -2.5 or a history of osteoporotic fracture. 8. Medications Detrimental to Bone or Soft-Tissue Healing a. Current use of medications known to adversely affect bone quality or soft-tissue healing, as determined by the Investigator. 9. Anatomic Constraints a. Anatomic anomalies or defects that, in the Investigator's opinion, would preclude safe or biomechanically appropriate device placement. 10. Systemic Inflammatory or Rheumatologic Disease a. Presence of a chronic inflammatory rheumatologic condition, such as rheumatoid arthritis. 11. Centralized Pain Syndromes a. Current diagnosis of fibromyalgia. 12. Infection Risk a. Evidence of current local or systemic infection that would increase surgical risk. 13. High-Dose Opioid Therapy (≥90 MME/day) a. Current use of systemic opioid analgesics at Screening/Baseline with an average daily dose ≥90 morphine milligram equivalents (MME/day), based on medication reconciliation (prescription records and subject report) and standard MME conversion factors. 14. Current Nicotine Use (Self-Reported) a. Self-reported use of any nicotine-containing products (including smoking, vaping/e-cigarettes, cigars, pipes, smokeless tobacco, nicotine pouches, and nicotine replacement products) within 6 weeks prior to Screening/Baseline. 15. Secondary Gain or Litigation a. Currently receiving or actively seeking workers' compensation or disability benefits or involved in injury-related litigation. 16. Pregnancy a. Currently pregnant or planning to become pregnant within two (2) years following enrollment, as self-reported. 17. Vulnerable Populations a. Individuals who are prisoners or wards of the state. 18. Substance Abuse a. Known or suspected active drug or alcohol abuse, including opioid misuse. 19. Psychiatric Conditions a. Diagnosed psychiatric disorder (e.g., schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, personality disorder) that, in the Investigator's judgment, could interfere with study participation. 20. Concurrent Interventional Research a. Current participation in another clinical trial. 21. Neurologic Conditions Affecting Rehabilitation a. Presence of a significant neurologic disorder that would interfere with participation in physical therapy or post procedural rehabilitation. 22. Other Confounding Medical Conditions a. Any other medical condition or pain condition not intended to be treated in this study that, in the Investigator's judgment, could interfere with study procedures, accurate pain reporting, or interpretation of study endpoints.
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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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Procura Pain and Spine
RECRUITINGShenandoah, Texas, 77384, United States
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