PRT for Chronic Low Back Pain

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) is a feasible and acceptable treatment to complete for working-age adults (ages 18-65) with chronic low back pain. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Is PRT acceptable and feasible for people with chronic low back pain to complete? Does PRT help reduce pain intensity and interference, while improving functional outcomes in people with chronic low back pain?

Researchers will compare PRT to a Monitoring and Education Program to see whether participants who receive PRT experience greater improvements in pain, daily functioning, and well-being.

Participants will:

* Be randomly assigned to the PRT group or the Monitoring and Education group
* Participate in 8 intervention sessions over an 8-week period
* Wear an activity monitor for 8 weeks
* Attend a follow-up assessment after completing the intervention and another assessment 3 months later

Please note that ClinicalTrials.gov will be used solely as a public study registry and not as a participant recruitment tool. The study team will not recruit participants or accept self-referrals through ClinicalTrials.gov. All participant recruitment will occur only through the Research Ethics Board (REB) approved recruitment methods.

Conditions

• Chronic Low Back Pain (CLBP)
• Nociplastic Pain

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Pain Reprocessing Therapy

Participants assigned to this arm will receive PRT, a psychological intervention designed to help individuals understand and manage their chronic pain by addressing how the brain and nervous system process pain signals. Participants will attend 8 weekly sessions over an 8-week period. The intervention includes, pain neuroscience education, somatic tracking exercises, and strategies to reduce fear and avoidance related to pain. In addition to the intervention, participants will complete study assessments and wear an activity monitor to measure physical activity and sleep patterns.

OTHER

Monitoring and Education

Participants assigned to this arm will receive a structured Monitoring and Education program delivered over 8 weekly sessions. This program was developed as a research comparison intervention. Participants will receive education related to physical activity, healthy lifestyle habits, sleep, stress management, and chronic pain self-management through Pain BC's LivePlanBe+ modules, while also reviewing information collected through activity monitoring devices. Participants will complete study assessments and wear an activity monitor to measure physical activity and sleep patterns throughout the study. This arm allows researchers to compare outcomes between participants receiving PRT and those receiving education and monitoring.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Workplace Safety and Insurance Board

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• University Health Network, Toronto

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Andrea D Furlan, MD PhD · University Health Network, Toronto

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

OTHER

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

65 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-07-15

Primary Completion

2027-06-30

Completion

2027-06-30

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations