Care Outcomes for Chiropractic Outpatient Veterans

Summary

The primary objectives of this pilot trial are to evaluate the feasibility, safety and acceptability of an integrative care pathway that includes chiropractic care, for the coordinated care for Veterans Administration (VA) patients with chronic low back pain (cLBP), with an emphasis on those with mental health comorbidity, in preparation for the conduct of an appropriately powered multi-site randomized controlled trial (RCT). The secondary objectives are to collect study outcomes at the baseline visit (BV) and at weeks 3, 5, 7, and 10 to: 1) assess the success of collecting outcomes; 2) determine the outcome measures to use in a future RCT; and 3) determine preliminary intervention effect sizes and variability to aid in sample size determination for a future RCT. The investigators hypothesize that chiropractic care offers relief for pain and mental health symptoms through the direct effects of treatment-focused CMT, as well as through the indirect, non-specific effects of the team-based relationship with the clinician.

This pilot study is a single-arm trial. All participants will be asked to complete study outcomes which include the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ), LBP intensity and interference as measured by the Defense and Veterans Pain Rating Scale (DVPRS), as well as the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale (GAD-7), Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian Version (PLC-C), self-care behaviors, Keele Start Back Screening Tool (STarT Back), Healing Encounters and Attitudes Lists (HEAL), Expectations for Complementary and Integrative Treatments Questionnaire (EXPECT), and Pain Intensity, Enjoyment of Life, General Activity Assessment Tool (PEG) questionnaires, and the Pain Assessment Screening Tool and Outcomes Registry (PASTOR) assessment, which includes measures of pain, disability, mental health, quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction. All participants will receive up to 10 weeks of chiropractic care and will complete outcome assessments at weeks 3, 5, 7, and 10 of the study.

Conditions

• Low Back Pain
• PTSD
• Depression
• Anxiety

Interventions

OTHER

Study assessments

All participants will be asked to complete study assessments at baseline visit, and weeks 3, 5, 7, and 10. Study participants will receive spinal manipulation and appropriate adjunctive therapies provided by doctors of chiropractic.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Iowa

  collaborator OTHER

• National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

  collaborator NIH

• Palmer College of Chiropractic

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Christine M Goertz, DC, PhD · The Spine Institute for Quality

• Cynthia Long, PhD · Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research (PCCR)

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

OTHER

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2018-02-19

Primary Completion

2018-11-05

Completion

2018-11-05

Countries

• United States

Study Locations