Texting your way to a better back surgery recovery?
NCT ID NCT04140344
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study looks at whether sending automated text messages with video advice to people after lumbar fusion surgery can lower the chance of going back to the hospital. About 224 adults having their first lumbar fusion will be split into two groups: one gets standard paper handouts, the other gets daily texts with links to provider videos. The goal is to see if texting improves recovery and reduces readmissions or ER visits within 30 days.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- automated text messages with video links
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could show that simple text reminders and videos help patients recover better at home after spine surgery.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage study focused on communication, not a new treatment. The results may not apply to all spine surgeries or hospitals.
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 224 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
-
Sep 2023
- Expected to finish
-
Oct 2027
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 years and older
- 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 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: 1. Primary lumbar fusion 1-4 levels 2. 18 years or older 3. Degenerative spine diagnosis 4. Answers YES to all the following screening questions: * Do you own a mobile phone that is capable of sending and receiving text messages? * Do you know how to text and feel comfortable texting? * Are you a regular (at least once a day) text-message user? * Are you agreeable to regular contact? Exclusion Criteria: 1. Prior lumbar fusions 2. Tumors/infection/trauma 3. Prisoners or institutionalized patients 4. Non-English speaking patients 5. Patients who smokes or with uncontrolled diabetes 6. Participants will be removed from study if discharged to a rehabilitation center or discharged beyond 7 days post-operatively (we are expecting \~15% of patients to be discharged to a rehabilitation center or discharged beyond 7 days post-operatively)
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Lumbar spine degeneration are added.
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.
-
The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
-
The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
-
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
-
Duke Neurosurgery and Duke Orthopedics
RECRUITINGDurham, North Carolina, 27710, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Mind over matter: could a smartphone app supercharge spine surgery recovery?
- New electrode design may extend pain relief for common back condition
- Freezing pain away: yale tests Nerve-Blocking procedure for Long-Term relief
- New study follows patients after back fusion surgery to measure Real-World results
- Can catgut threads beat needles for back pain?
- Could ambien help you heal faster after back surgery?