Pain Clinical Trials in Salt Lake City, UT

Through this prospective, single-arm cohort pilot study, we plan to explore the safety and effectiveness of Shoulder Radiofrequency Ablation (SRFA) in patients with non-operative chronic shoulder pain due to shoulder osteoarthritis with or without rotator cuff tears. Read Less

Cervical medial branch radiofrequency ablation (CMBRFA) is an effective treatment for cervical facet pain. The efficacy of CMBRFA was proven by studies published in the late 1990's and early 2000's. Patients were selected by a strict, labor-intensive placebo-controlled, diagnostic block protocol and were treated using a conventional monopolar cannula that was positioned parallel to the medial branch, two to three lesions per medial branch nerve and both sagittal and oblique passes. Since the original CMBRFA publications, patient selection for CMBRFA is less strict, and new RFA cannulae have been developed to improve efficiency and safety while maintaining a large ablative lesion. Current clinical patient selection criteria for CMBRFA tend to be more relaxed than described in early research studies. However, subsequent research has shown that when selection criteria are too relaxed, outcomes are poorer. A recent cross-sectional study reported that when CMBRFA is done in patients selected by \>80% pain improvement after dual medial branch blocks, outcomes are similar to patients selected with a stricter selection protocol (100% pain relief) similar to the original CMBRFA studies. Although, the cross-sectional study suggests an appropriate selection criteria, it has not been used in any prospective studies. The Trident multi-tined cannula is a recent technology that produces a large ablative lesion distal to the triple-tined tip. This design allows a perpendicular/lateral approach to CMBRFA and only requires a single lesion at each medial branch. This differs from the conventional cannula, which produces it's most extensive ablative lesion along the cannula with minimal distal projection. As a result, it requires a parallel approach with multiple burn cycles at the same medial branch. The perpendicular approach with Trident and single lesion cycle at each medial branch are appealing for safety purposes and efficiency however, it's efficacy has not been directly compared to the standard conventional cannula. Problem: There are no randomized controlled trials comparing novel technologies like Trident cannula to the previously studied conventional cannula in patients selected with a more practical selection criteria. Purpose: To compared procedural characteristics, pain, and disability outcomes of CMBRFA using either a Trident or conventional cannula in patients with confirmed facet mediated pain (defined by ≥80% symptom reduction after dual medial branch block). Central Hypothesis: Trident cannula during CMBRFA will result in noninferior improvements in pain and function compared to conventional cannula but will significantly reduce procedural discomfort, time and radiation exposure. Specific Aims: 1. Determine the proportion of patients with a successful pain response (defined as ≥50% improvement in index pain) to Trident (T-CMBRFA) versus conventional (C-CMBRFA) at 3, 6, and 12 months. 2. Determine the proportion of patients with a successful functional response (defined as ≥10% reduction on neck disability index \[NDI\]) to T-CMBRFA versus C-CMBRFA at 3, 6, and 12 months. 3. Determine the proportion of patients with a successful perception of improvement (defined as a score ≥6 on the Patient Global Impression of Change \[PGIC\]) to T-CMBRFA versus C-CMBRFA at 3, 6, and 12 months. Read Less

Specific Aims The sacroiliac joint complex (SIJC) is a diathrodial, synovial joint and posterior ligamentous network that receives both anterior innervation from the lumbosacral plexus as well as posterior sensory innervation via the posterior sacral network (PSN). The PSN is comprised by the lateral branches S1-S3 posterior rami, with variable contributions from S4 lateral branch, L4 medial branch, and L5 dorsal ramus. Pain signals originating from the SIJC can be interrupted with image-guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of the PSN, thereby reducing pain and disability in carefully selected patients. A prior systematic review estimated that 32-89% of patients achieve at least 50% pain relief for six months after some type of PSN ablation. Many experts suspect that heterogenous RFA techniques and technology are responsible for the variable success rates seen across published studies. Cadaveric work suggests that targeting the PSN with a large bipolar strip lesions would result in \>95% PSN neural capture compared to a smaller lesion produced by a conventional, monopolar, periforaminal RFA technique which may capture as low as 2.5% of the PSN. Nimbus is a commonly used multi-tined RFA probe whose large bipolar lesion size make it an ideal option for complete PSN neural ablation. Both the Nimbus (N-SIJRFA) and conventional (C-SIJRFA) techniques and technologies are commonly used; however, there are no prospective RCT's comparing them, and the clinical significance remains unknown. Problem: There are no randomized controlled trials comparing novel technologies like N-SIJRFA to C-SIJRFA. Purpose: To compare pain and disability outcomes in patients with confirmed SIJC pain after randomization to either N-SIJRFA or C-SIJRFA. Central Hypothesis: N-SIJRFA will be more effective in improving pain and function compared to patients treated with C-SIJRFA at 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. Specific Aims: 1. Compare the proportion of participants who report ≥50% relief of pain by Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) after N-SIJRFA versus C-SIJRFA. 2. Compare the proportion of participants who report ≥15-point ODI (Oswestry Disability Index) reduction after N-SIJRFA versus C-SIJRFA. 3. Compare the proportion of participants with clinically significant improvement in the categorical EuroQol 5 Dimensions tool (EQ-5D) defined by ≥0.03, after N-SIJRFA versus C-SIJRFA. 4. Compare the proportions of participants who report being "improved" or "much improved" on the Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC) scale after N-SIJRFA versus C-SIJRFA. 5. Evaluate the differences in success rates for pain improvement, functional improvement and satisfaction in those experiencing ≥ 50%, ≥ 80%, and 100% pain relief after either prognostic PSN blocks or intra-articular (IA) sacroiliac joint (SIJ) injections. 6. Determine the effect of PSN ablation on reducing pain related sleep disturbance as measured by the Pain and Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ-3). 7. Compare procedural time requirements between those treated with N-SIJRFA versus C-SIJRFA. 8. Report adverse effects. 9. Report rates of subsequent interventional healthcare utilization including repeat N-SIJRFA versus C-SIJRFA, SIJ injection, and SIJ fusion. Read Less

This study will apply low-intensity transcranial focused ultrasound to dorsal root ganglia in patients with chronic neuropathic pain. The target will be validated using magnetic resonance imaging. The stimulation will first be delivered using a range of stimulation parameters during psychophysical and physiological monitoring. A well-tolerated stimulation protocol will be selected for subsequent testing in a blinded randomized sham-controlled cross-over trial. The level of pain will be evaluated using the Numerical Rating Scale (NSR-11) and the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) numerical rating scales of pain. Read Less

This study will be a single-site, two-arm randomized controlled trial conducted among Spanish-speaking chronic pain patients. Chronic pain patients will be randomized by a computer-generated randomization schedule with simple random allocation (1:1) to either One MORE or a wait-list control condition (WLC). One MORE will be delivered individually either in-person or via a HIPAA compliant virtual meeting platform. Read Less

This will be a single-site, five-arm, parallel group randomized control trial involving patients seeking integrative healthcare. Four different styles of 5-minute, audio-recoded mindfulness practices delivered in the clinic waiting room will be compared with a 5-minute audio-recording about integrative healthcare. A secondary sub-analysis will investigate the most effective mindfulness practice style for patients presenting at the clinic with elevated anxiety, depression, or pain. Read Less

This will be a single-site, five-arm, parallel group randomized control trial involving patients undergoing knee or hip replacement surgery. The investigators will compare five different styles of 5-minute, audio-recoded mindfulness practices delivered via app 7 days before to surgery, 2 days before to surgery, 2 days after surgery, and 6 days after surgery. Read Less

This project a single-site 3-arm parallel group randomized clinical trial conducted at a tertiary level 1 trauma center among patients undergoing operative fixation of a lower extremity fracture. Read Less

This is a single-site, four-arm, parallel-group randomized clinical trial (RCT). The clinical effects of three different formats of a very brief (i.e., 3 minute), audio-recorded mindfulness intervention for foot and ankle patients will be investigated relative to a 3-minute audio-recoding about pain psychoeducation. Read Less

The primary aim of this pilot trial is to enhance the efficacy of the Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) intervention by adding neurofeedback (NF) of the Orbitofrontal Cortex (OFC) as an adjunct to the savoring component of MORE. We hypothesize that the use of NF to train OFC responses during savoring will amplify patients' ability to savor and thereby increase brain responsivity to natural rewards; such enhanced reward responding will in turn be associated with improvements in clinical outcomes (e.g., pain, analgesic use). Read Less