Pain Paid Clinical Trials in Minnesota

Nearly 60-85% of Veterans with amputations experience pain at the location of the amputated limb called phantom limb pain (PLP). PLP is a major problem and can have a profound impact on Veteran's daily function and ability to fully participate in life. Although several rehabilitation interventions are promising, advances in novel rehabilitation interventions are limited. The objective of this project is to refine a mobile app for graded motor imagery in 12 Veterans with amputations and test the mobile app with 36 Veterans with amputations. For this pilot project, the investigators will measure the preliminary feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. Knowledge from this project will provide evidence to guide future larger studies of this graded motor imagery intervention. Developing novel strategies for chronic pain in this population will positively impact quality of life for Veterans with amputations. 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

The long-term objective of this investigation is to identify how Qigong affects brain function in brain areas relevant to patients with chronic low back pain (cLBP), thereby setting a foundation from which to perform further clinical research. Read Less

Pain symptoms can have a variety of ways to be treated, from medications to physical therapy, with several options being available to patients. However, no one treatment may work for all people who experience pain, especially cLBP. The purpose of this study is to measure the compliance, usability, and satisfaction of an at-home, multi-modal stimulation device in a diverse population of people with chronic lower back pain (cLBP). The multi-modal device will include a combination of electrical stimulation, auditory stimulation, and integrative-health techniques, including mindfulness breathing, health coaching, and reflective journaling. The multi-modal device creation is based on prior knowledge in lower back pain treatment, which includes electrical stimulation of the back (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator or TENS) and integrative health modalities. In isolation, these treatments are only somewhat effective in reducing symptoms. This pilot study will involve participants who experience cLBP as we investigate a novel at-home, multi-modal device design. The main objective of the pilot usability study is to examine compliance to the intended use of the multi-modal device and approach, as well as protocol feasibility, and satisfaction with the settings and design. Read Less

This study addresses the timely problem of painful temporomandibular disorders (TMD), the most common cause of orofacial pain second only to tooth pain. Findings from previous studies suggest that dysregulation of connectivity within specific brain circuits is part of chronic pain pathophysiology. This study will identify connectivity patterns within those brain circuits as potential signatures for pain- related disability in chronic TMD pain participants. New knowledge regarding these brain connectivity patterns is expected to be significant because it will support improved phenotyping of this heterogeneous participant population. It is also expected that this finding can potentially be extrapolated to other chronic pain conditions, such as back pain, migraine headache, and fibromyalgia that are frequently comorbid conditions in chronic TMD participants. 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 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 study purpose is to document the typical trajectory of perioperative pain experience in Cerebral Palsy (CP) and to identify important predictive factors for the development of chronic postsurgical pain. The main aims of the investigators are to: 1. Quantify the trajectory of pain and opioid use in the context of orthopedic surgery in children with CP. 2. Identify predictors for CPSP in children with CP and develop an applicable risk index. 3. Examine relationships between perioperative pain severity and functional/mobility outcomes achieved by orthopedic surgery in children with CP. Participants will complete: 1. Questionnaires/Surveys via email and text message 2. In-person Sensory Tests 3. In-person Gait and Motion Analysis Read Less

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of DRG stimulation when placing a neurostimulator during the same procedure as implantation of spinal fixation with or without interbody cage systems in patients with chronic back and/or leg pain requiring single level spinal fusion. Read Less