Making Better Lives: Patient-Focused Care for Low Back Pain (LBP)
Chronic Low Back Pain, Hip Ostearthritis, Myofascial Pain Syndrome
About this trial
This is an interventional treatment trial for Chronic Low Back Pain focused on measuring Chronic Low Back Pain, Aged, Elderly, Primary Care, Assessment, Lumbar, Spinal Stenosis, Hip Osteoarthritis, Myofascial Pain Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Depression, Maladaptive Coping, Lumbar Spinal Stenosis, Insomnia, Sacroiliac Joint Pain, Lateral Hip and Thigh Pain, Anxiety, Dementia, Recent Leg Length Discrepancy
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- English-speaking (to ensure the validity of data collected)
- Age 60 and older
- Lumbar MRI within past 30 days and is without evidence of infection, malignancy, or acute fracture OR scheduled for a lumbar MRI within the next 30 days
- CLBP, defined as pain in the lower back of at least moderate severity (assessed with a verbal rating scale), every day or almost every day, for at least 3 months
No red flags that would indicate a serious underlying disorder that would necessitate urgent and specialized treatment, i.e.,
- weight loss
- fever
- sudden severe LBP
- change in bowels/bladder
- back pain that awakens from sleep
- recent leg weakness
- No pain in other body locations that is more severe than their low back pain
- No psychotic symptoms
- No previous spine surgery
- No dementia (Folstein Mini-Mental State Examination score of > 24)
- No acute illness
- No prohibitive communication impairment (e.g., severe hearing or visual impairment)
- Able to commit to 6 months of study participation
Exclusion Criteria:
- Vulnerable subjects will not be enrolled
- Neither pregnant subjects nor women of childbearing potential will be included because the investigators are targeting older Veterans with CLBP
- Neither children nor prisoners will be included
- Incompetent subjects will be excluded from participating in this research, as determined by performance on the Folstein Mini Mental State Examination
Sites / Locations
- VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System University Drive Division, Pittsburgh, PA
- Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center, Richmond, VA
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Experimental
Placebo Comparator
Patient-Centered Care
Imaging-Directed Care
Patient-centered care will be directed by geriatricians who have been trained to assess and treat 11 conditions that commonly affect chronic low back pain.
Imaging-Directed Care will allow patients to follow-up their initial imaging with whatever course they (and/or their doctor) chose, should they chose to follow any course at all.