Chronic Pain Clinical Trials

The goal of this study is to compare pain outcomes achieved by spinal cord stimulation (SCS) using time varying stimulation patterns with pain outcomes achieved by current standard of care SCS. Read Less

Chronic pain (CP) is a major health problem for military Veterans, and CP is often associated with comorbid mental health problems, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. CP with psychological comorbidity is associated with increased healthcare costs, medication use, risk of suicide and rates of disability and reduced quality of life. Current empirically supported treatments do not always lead to substantial improvements (up to 50% of patients drop out or are do not respond to treatment). This project was designed to evaluate the efficacy of a novel intervention for addressing these challenges. Compassion meditation (CM), a meditative practice that focuses on the wish to remove suffering, is a contemplative practice that has promise for the amelioration of physical and mental health problems as well as promoting positive affect and improving quality of life. This study will evaluate the efficacy of Cognitively-Based Compassion Training for Chronic Pain with Psychological Comorbidity (CBCT-CP+) compared to Health Education while Living with Pain (H.E.L.P.) control condition, in a sample of among Veterans with CP conditions and psychological comorbidity. Read Less

The EPPIC (Easing Pelvic Pain Interventions Clinical Research Program) study evaluates an ultra-brief, 4 session cognitive behavioral pain treatment transdiagnostic in design for urologic chronic pain syndrome (UCPPS) with clinical and practical advantages over existing behavioral therapies whose length and focus limits their adoption by clinicians and coverage for mechanistically similar comorbidities. A theoretically informed, practical, empirically grounded approach will systematically unpack CBT's working mechanisms, clarify for whom it works, ease dissemination, appeal to patients, providers, payers, and policy makers in the COVID-19 era favoring low resource intensity treatments, and reduce cost and inefficiencies associated with high intensity therapies whose complexity, length, and scarcity restricts uptake and impact. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to assess the effects of tDCS in combination with TUS for the treatment of pain in subjects with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. The investigators hypothesize that there will be a decrease in pain levels with active stimulation, when compared to sham stimulation. Read Less

The goal of this project is to conduct a randomized, hybrid type 1 effectiveness-implementation trial (N=200) to evaluate the effectiveness and implementation of a 10-week mind-body and walking program (GetActive+) vs treatment as usual (TAU). The investigators will test for improvements in self-reported, performance-based (i.e., six-minute walk test), and objective (i.e., step-count) physical function, emotional function, as well as feasibility, acceptability and implementation markers. Participants will complete measures at baseline (0 weeks), post-intervention (1 week after intervention completion), and 6-month follow-up. This study will receive support from and inclusion in the HEAL Initiative (https://heal.nih.gov/). Read Less

The overarching goal of this study phase, Phase II component is to perform a randomized clinical trial of the refined Computerized Chemosensory-Based Orbitofrontal Networks Training for Treatment of Pain \[CBOT-Pain (or CBOT-P)\] from Phase I, compared to sham Computerized Chemosensory-Based Orbitofrontal Networks Training (CBOT) in Chronic Low Back Pain (CLBP) to determine its short- and long-term effectiveness on Pain, Negative Affect (NA), Cognition and Cortical Brain Structure (PACS), long-term safety, and indications. The investigators will perform a randomized clinical trial of the refined CBOT-P from Phase I, compared to sham CBOT in CLBP. Aim 2.1: To determine if CBOT-P significantly influences: (1) acute and long-term reduction of pain severity, and (2) acute and long-term reduction of negative affect. The hypothesis is that optimized CBOT will produce faster, stronger, and longer-lasting improvements in pain severity, NA severity, cognitive impairments, and sleep and functional outcomes. Aim 2.2 To determine if CBOT-P significantly prevents or reduces progressive shrinkage in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), cingulate cortex, and hippocampus. MRI will be acquired at baseline and 6th month. An integrative analysis will be conducted to determine the link between changes in brain structure and cognitive trajectory. The hypothesis is that the CBOT optimized with BCP significantly attenuates shrinkage in OFC and other prefrontal cortex (PFC) regions, compared to the Sham intervention. Read Less

Embo Registry is a retrospective and prospective observational study to evaluate real world effectiveness and the use of Artery Embolization as a treatment for chronic pain with patients that have osteoarthritis and localized pain to provide symptomatic relief. This study is to determine the efficacy and validity of procedure and that following procedure patients had decreased pain and improved quality of life. Read Less

This study will sequentially evaluate three novel and scalable interventions for at-risk individuals on long term opioid therapy for chronic pain: (1) low-dose transdermal buprenorphine initiation without a period of opioid withdrawal; (2) a brief Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for pain (CBI); and (3) "accelerated" rTMS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, by examining standardized repeated measures of clinical outcomes at baseline, during treatment, and at 4-, 12-, 24- and 52-week follow-up. Read Less

This study will investigate the effectiveness of the Sana Pain Reliever (Sana PR) at reducing chronic pain. The Sana PR is a device comprised of one main component (Mask with Earbuds) and two ancillary components (Charger and Headband). The device is worn over the eyes (with earbuds in ears). The device pulses light at a single wavelength but various frequencies throughout a specific firmware algorithm. Through the earbuds, the device also plays different tones in conjunction with the pulses. The device has a skin contacting Heart Rate Variability (HRV) sensor built into the forehead area that measures HRV throughout the use of the device. The system runs for 15 min at a time and is not FDA approved. The trial will last a total of 14 weeks. 50 participants who have a diagnosis of Post-treatment Lyme Disease and experience chronic pain are expected to take part in this study at Mount Sinai. Read Less

Spinal cord stimulation modulates the nervous system to effectively block pain signals originating from the back and legs. Spinal cord stimulation has been shown to improve chronic pain, improve quality of life, and reduce disability. Unfortunately, spinal cord stimulation has a high trial failure rate and a high long-term failure rate. This study consists of a prospective cohort of patients clinically scheduled to undergo spinal cord stimulation for the treatment of chronic back pain or radiculopathy. Participants will undergo a structured optimization evaluating existing types of stimulation (tonic, burst, and multistim). Each participant will try out all types of available stimulation but be blinded to the type. Over the course of four months, each participant will evaluate each type of stimulation by reporting daily pain scores. Thompson sampling will be used to identify which setting produces the biggest improvement in pain and recommend it for future use. Participants will follow up routinely to collect laboratory, behavioral, and survey responses to test for the feasibility of obtaining data explaining pain phenotype. Read Less

Although most people recover from acute pain (such as pain caused by injury, surgery, repetitive motion, or unknown causes), many people do not fully recover and will experience chronic pain. Untreated posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) appears to be a key risk factor for the transition from acute pain to chronic pain. However, few published studies have addressed the issue of preventing the transition from acute to chronic pain via PTSD reduction. This project will aim to test whether trauma-related PTSD symptoms can be reduced using either Stellate Ganglion Block (SGB) treatment or Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), and whether reducing PTSD symptoms can prevent the transition from non-injury based acute pain to chronic pain. Read Less

This is a 4-year project to see if a small battery-powered, device attached to a headband, that sits on the skin surface and delivers what is a hardly noticeable level of electrical stimulation can reduce pain in patients who receive hemodialysis on an ongoing basis. Read Less