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Alberta Rehabilitation Advice Line SelfBack Study

NCT06484751 · Status: TERMINATED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 26

Last updated 2025-08-01

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Recurrent and persistent low back pain (LBP) is a massive problem in Canada that causes a substantial pain, disability, cost, and even premature death.

The good news is that treatments for recurrent and persistent LBP are available. Many guidelines now recommend education and exercise as the best intervention for chronic LBP. Unfortunately, education and exercise programs are not publicly funded in Canada-only Canadians with extended health benefits can access these programs.

As a result, the 50% of Canadians who do not have extended health benefits often seek care for LBP from their publicly funded physicians. Physicians, in turn, have little choice but to reach for what they have available, including opioids, x-rays and referrals to specialists. Not only are these interventions unhelpful for chronic LBP, they are often harmful, sometimes deadly, and disproportionately affect lower socio-economic status households.

A possible solution to this problem exists in a validated app (SelfBack) that provides tailored self-management plans consisting of advice on physical activity, physical exercises, and educational content. Tailoring of treatment plans to individuals is achieved by using case-based reasoning methodology which is a branch of artificial intelligence.

This study will evaluate the feasibility of distributing the SelfBack app to persons experiencing LBP through the Rehabilitation Advice Line, a telephone service open Monday to Friday and provides rehabilitation advice and general health information for Albertans of any age.

The results of this study will help us understand the barriers and facilitators of distributing and using the app in the general pollution of Alberta. This information will be used to apply for funding for a larger study to understand the effectiveness of the app as an intervention for persistent and recurrent LBP.

Conditions

  • Chronic Low-back Pain

Interventions

DEVICE

SelfBack

The SelfBack app is a promising decision support system (DSS) App used globally to support and reinforce desired self-management behavior for LBP. Selfback's program goal is to improve the self-management of nonspecific LBP to reduce pain-related disability.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of Alberta

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2024-07-15
Primary Completion
2025-06-06
Completion
2025-06-06

Countries

  • Canada

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 NCT06484751 on ClinicalTrials.gov