Study Comparing Cortical Function and Dysfunction Tests in Low Back Pain

Kuopio University Hospital

Status: Completed

Conditions: Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain

Treatments: Device: transcranial magnetic stimulation

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT00924495

KUH5960429

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to explore the cortical regulation of the paraspinal muscles in chronic low back pain. These (possible) changes in regulatory mechanisms are being compared to other motor control tests in order to determine whether correlations are found. Furthermore the patients are being treated with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and tested afterwards. The purpose is to find out if rTMS-therapy is capable of normalizing motor control deficits.

Enrollment: 80 patients

Sex: Male

Ages: 25 to 50 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• chronic nonspecific low back pain for at least six months
• male gender
• age 25-50 yrs
• average pain during last week 4-8/10 by VAS
• Oswestry disability index 20-80 %

Exclusion criteria

• former spinal operations
• rheumatic disease, marked spondylolysis and -olisthesis, other diseases that markedly reduce physical or psychological performance, history of epilepsy, history of taking epileptic or strong opioid drugs

Trial design

Primary purpose: Basic Science

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

---

80 participants in 2 patient groups

Cortical function

Active Comparator group

Description:

Activity/inhibition of the cortex

Treatment:

Device: transcranial magnetic stimulation

Cortical regulation

Active Comparator group

Treatment:

Device: transcranial magnetic stimulation