Chronic Pain Clinical Trials

The goal of this study is to use pain-specific urine biomarkers to evaluate how daily nutritional supplementation with biomarker guided formulas effect, quality of life and urinary biomarker scores in chronic pain patients. Assessing the effect of biomarker guided supplementation on pain specific biomarkers through changes in urinary biomarker scores may solidify the necessity for identifying deficiencies to create an individualized treatment plan for pain patients. This study aims to evaluate the effect of biomarker-guided supplementation on the three categories of urinary biomarkers using targeted ingredients specifically designed for oxidative stress, inflammation, and nerve health. This study provides subjects with one of three nutritional supplement formulas based on their specific urinary biomarker test results and assesses changes in their urinary biomarker levels and their quality of life as it relates to their pain over a 3-month period. Read Less

The investigators aim to determine whether cervical paravertebral muscle twitching during motor testing as part of performing cervical RFAs is associated with a greater likelihood of treatment success, and greater magnitude or duration of analgesia. The investigators propose a straightforward grading scale based on visual and tactile information readily available during RFA procedures as part of routine practice (per radiofrequency electrode: 0 = no twitches palpated or observed; 1 = twitches palpated but not observed; 2 = twitches palpated and observed at 1-2 levels; 3= twitches palpated and observed at \>2 levels). If a higher weighted score (total score divided by number of radiofrequency lesion sites) correlates with a greater likelihood of treatment success, or magnitude or duration of analgesia following cervical RFA, cervical paraspinal muscle twitching may serve as a readily obtainable prognostic factor (marker) for effectiveness. Read Less

Sickle cell disease is a painful inherited disorder that affects approximately 100,000 people in the United States, and more than half of these individuals develop chronic or persistent pain that is often severe and disabling. The factors that predict whether an individual with sickle cell disease will develop severe, disabling pain are unclear. The goal of this project is to identify the factors that predict severe pain outcomes in individuals living with sickle cell disease in order to improve pain management strategies and guide future studies of non-opioid therapies for treatment of their pain. Participants who agree to enroll in this study will be asked to participate in a virtual and then an in-person study visit for their full initial study assessment. They will answer survey questions during the virtual visit, and will be asked to complete several types of standard testing to understand how their body handles pain during the in-person visit. After completing the virtual and in-person sessions, participants will receive text or electronic medical record messages with brief survey (will take less than 8 minutes to complete) on their pain experiences every three months until the study is completed (or up to 48 months for people who are enrolled at the beginning of the study). Read Less

This project is a single-site, randomized controlled trial designed to investigate the impact of a 7-minute mindfulness intervention on pain among patients undergoing kyphoplasty or radiofrequency ablation. Read Less

The present study seeks to examine the implementation process of culturally tailoring screening and brief intervention for both chronic pain and opioid misuse/opioid use disorder in three American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) serving clinics. The investigators also will assess staff perspectives on this implementation as well as a survey to understand clients at these sites who have chronic pain and opioid misuse/opioid use disorder. Read Less

This research study will evaluate the effectiveness of utilizing Battlefield Acupuncture (BFA) on veterans with with a history of substance use disorder and chronic pain for 8 weeks. Primary Aim: The primary aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of using BFA to treat chronic pain in veterans with a history of substance use disorder. Secondary Aim: This study will also evaluate the impact that BFA treatment for pain may have on subjects' stress, mood and sleep patterns over 8 weeks. In addition, each subject will be complete behavioral research tools to measure: depression, anxiety, and substance use at 3 different points in this study. Hypothesis: The use of BFA on veterans with chronic pain will decrease their pain and substance use and improve their quality of life. Read Less

This study is a double-blind, randomized controlled trial comparing the effectiveness of oral acetaminophen, diclofenac, and tramadol in reducing the consumption of narcotic doses (primary outcome) and minimizing patients' exposure to narcotics (secondary outcome) following an ultrasound-guided percutaneous needle tenotomy procedure on the lateral elbow. Read Less

This project addresses the significant challenge of providing evidence-based non-pharmacologic pain management to rural-dwelling Veterans in the VA healthcare system who have chronic pain. For this preparatory phase (UG3) the investigators will conduct a pilot study of 40 rural VA patients with chronic pain to assess the feasibility of delivering RAMP (experimental intervention for the UH3 trial) in terms of recruitment and engagement, intervention fidelity and adherence, data collection, and other key metrics. Read Less

The primary objective of the study is to determine changes in cerebral nociceptive hemodynamic response (blood oxygenation/flow) before, during and following spinal cord stimulation (SCS). Objective measurements of cerebral nociceptive hemodynamic responses will be obtained with the CereVu sensor and ROPA system and will be analyzed offline and compared against subjective measures of pain. Proprietary analysis algorithms will be incorporated and developed to understand how the objective measurements correlate with subject reported pain levels Read Less

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate if a supplement called palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) is effective in reducing the pain in patients with chronic inflammatory pain conditions. The main question the trial aims to answer is if PEA works better at treating a patients pain and improving their function better than a placebo. Participants will be divided into two equal groups and asked to take either PEA or a placebo for 8 weeks. Read Less

Chronic pain and heavy drinking are common co-occurring conditions among patients presenting to primary care settings. Given their impact on functioning and medical outcomes, there would be considerable benefit to developing an accessible, easily utilized, integrative approach to reduce alcohol use and pain that can be readily incorporated into the health care settings. The objective of this study is to test a modified version of a smartphone-based intervention for reducing pain and alcohol use among individuals experiencing chronic pain who engage in heavy drinking. The primary goal is to test the feasibility and acceptability of implementing this intervention in a sample that includes participants from rural areas and providing initial data on the utility of the intervention. Read Less

The goal of this study is to determine if a mind-body intervention can help people suffering from chronic back pain. The study is a randomized, partially blinded trial examining the effectiveness of a mind body intervention in reducing disability from back pain and alleviating back pain in participants as compared to usual care and an active control (second mind body intervention). The investigators will secondarily investigate whether the intervention alleviates anxiety related to the pain and other quality of life parameters. Read Less