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Brain zaps for back pain: new study tests tACS

NCT ID NCT06568198

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 study
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
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 Results may not be published yet.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This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.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 Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026

Summary

This study tests whether a gentle, non-invasive brain stimulation technique called tACS can reduce chronic low back pain. Researchers will enroll 80 adults aged 18-60 who have had low back pain for at least 6 months. Participants will receive either real tACS or a sham (fake) stimulation, and the team will measure pain levels and brain activity using EEG, MEG, and fMRI scans.

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

Phase 2

Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.

Participants

About 80 people

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

Started

Aug 2025

Expected to finish

Feb 2028

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: 1. Volunteers 18-60 years of age 2. Meet the Classification Criteria of the chronic LBP (having low back pain for more than 6 months) 3. At least 4/10 clinical pain on the 0-10 LBP NRS 4. At least a 10th grade English-reading level; English can be a second language provided that the patients understand all questions used in the assessment measures 5. Meeting the MRI / MEG / EEG screening criteria Exclusion Criteria: 1. Specific causes of back pain (eg, cancer, fractures, spinal stenosis, infections) 2. Complicated back problems (eg, prior back surgery, medicolegal issues) 3. The intent to undergo surgery during the time of involvement in the study 4. 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) 5. Presence of any contraindications to MRI scanning (for example: cardiac pacemaker, metal implants, claustrophobia, pregnancy, cannot lie still in fMRI scanner) 6. Concomitant autoimmune, chronic, inflammatory, neoplastic, and psychiatric diseases 7. Pregnant or lactating 8. Conditions making study participation difficult (e.g., paralysis, psychoses, or other severe psychological problems as per the judgment of a study investigator during Session 1) 9. Active substance abuse disorders (based on subject self-report and drug test) 10. Regular use of pain medication such as opioids, nonopioid analgesics, coanalgesics, corticosteroids, or immunomodulatory agents 11. Any medical conditions, such as peripheral neuropathy, that could affect the results of QST 12. Current use of psychotropic medication

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As listed by the trial registrant

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

Chronic low back pain

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

  1. The places running it

    1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.

  2. The official record

    ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

    Open the record ↗

  3. 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

  • Massachusetts General Hospital

    RECRUITING

    Charlestown, Massachusetts, 02129, United States

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