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Exercise Therapy for Recurrent Low Back Pain: Unraveling the Puzzle of Peripheral Muscle and Central Brain Changes (B670201420984)

NCT05706103 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 62

Last updated 2025-03-20

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Exercise therapy has been shown to be effective in decreasing pain and improving function for patients with recurrent low back pain (LBP). Research on the mechanisms that trigger and/or underlie the effects of exercise therapy on LBP problems is of critical importance for the prevention of recurring or persistence of this costly and common condition. One factor that seems to be crucial within this context is the dysfunction of the back muscles. Recent pioneering results have shown that individuals with recurring episodes of LBP have specific dysfunctions of these muscles (peripheral changes) and also dysfunctions at the cortical level (central changes). This work provides the foundation to take a fresh look at the interplay between peripheral and central aspects, and its potential involvement in exercise therapy. The current project will draw on this opportunity to address the following research questions: What are the immediate (after a single session) and the long-term effects (after 18 repeated sessions) of exercise training on: (1) back muscle structure; (2) back muscle function; (3) the structure of the brain; (4) and functional connectivity of the brain. This research project also aims to examine whether the effects are dependent on how the training was performed. Therefore a specific versus a general exercise program will be compared.

Conditions

  • Low Back Pain, Recurrent

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Specific skilled motor training

Participants allocated to the skilled motor training group will receive sensorimotor training of the intrinsic muscles of the lumbopelvic region, namely the multifidus, transversus abdominis, and pelvic floor muscles.

BEHAVIORAL

General extension training

Participants allocated to the general extension training group will receive general training exercises using the David Back equipment from the Back Unit at Ghent University Hospital

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Fund for Scientific Research, Flanders, Belgium

    collaborator OTHER

  • University Ghent

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Jessica van Oosterwijck, Prof · Ghent University, Pain in Motion

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
45 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2021-01-04
Primary Completion
2025-12-31
Completion
2025-12-31

Countries

  • Belgium

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT05706103 on ClinicalTrials.gov