Can a video visit ease your back pain? major trial tests virtual PT vs. In-Person care
NCT ID NCT06821607
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Aug 21, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study compares two ways to treat chronic low back pain: physical therapy done through video calls (telerehabilitation) versus in-person clinic visits. Researchers will enroll 1000 adults with ongoing back pain to see which approach better reduces disability and pain after 8 weeks. The goal is to find out if virtual care works as well as traditional therapy and how patients engage with each option.
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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 1,000 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Apr 2025
- Expected to finish
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May 2030
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 64 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: * Primary care visit in the past 90 days with an LBP-related ICD-10 diagnosis. * At least moderate levels of pain and disability requiring Oswestry score ≥24% and average pain rating ≥ 4/10 points. * Meets NIH Task Force2 definition of chronic LBP based on two questions: 1) How long has LBP has been an ongoing problem? and 2) How often has LBP been an ongoing problem over the past 6 months? A response of greater than 3 months to question 1, and "at least half the days in the past 6 months" to question 2 is required to satisfy the NIH definition of chronic LBP. * Can speak and understand English or Spanish (Utah sites only). Exclusion Criteria: * Recent history (last 6 months) of lumbar spine surgery. * Possible non-musculoskeletal cause for low back pain symptoms (e.g., pregnancy). * Evidence of serious pathology as a cause of LBP including neoplasm, inflammatory disease (e.g., ankylosing spondylitis), vertebral osteomyelitis, etc. * Neurological disorder resulting in severe movement disorder, or schizophrenia or other psychotic disorder. * Knowingly pregnant
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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
3 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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Intermountain Healthcare
RECRUITINGSalt Lake City, Utah, 84111, United States
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Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
RECRUITINGBaltimore, Maryland, 21287, United States
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University of Utah
RECRUITINGSalt Lake City, Utah, 84112, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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