RECRUITING

Self-Administered Acupressure for Veterans With Chronic Back Pain

Study Overview

This clinical trial focuses on testing the efficacy of different digital interventions to promote re-engagement in cancer-related long-term follow-up care for adolescent and young adult (AYA) survivors of childhood cancer.

Description

Many Veterans experience chronic pain, with back pain the most commonly reported condition. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is moving from reliance on medications to an approach in which non-medication interventions, including complementary and integrative health treatments, are now a first line of care. Acupressure, a Traditional Chinese Medicine technique derived from acupuncture, is emerging as a potentially effective approach for treating several chronic pain conditions and could prove beneficial in helping Veterans manage their chronic low back pain. This study will determine the effectiveness of self-administered acupressure to treat chronic low back pain. 300 Veterans will be invited to participate in the study. All participants will be asked to attend an introduction to acupressure class and complete a survey when they join the study and again at 6 weeks and 10 weeks. The survey measures assess important outcomes, such as how pain interferes with daily function, as well as other areas that can be affected by pain such as fatigue and sleep quality. After completing the first survey, half of the participants will receive a tablet computer with an app that shows them how to self-administer acupressure for low back pain and will be asked to do daily acupressure sessions for the next 6 weeks. The other half of the participants will receive the tablet computer with the app approximately 10 weeks after completing the final survey based assessment. The investigators anticipate that outcomes will be improved after 6 weeks of acupressure practice, and these improvements will persist for the following 4 weeks.

Official Title

Self-Administered Acupressure for Veterans With Chronic Back Pain: A Multisite Evaluation of Effectiveness and Implementation

Quick Facts

Study Start:2022-10-03
Study Completion:2025-11-07
Study Type:Not specified
Phase:Not Applicable
Enrollment:Not specified
Status:RECRUITING

Study ID

NCT05423145

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Ages Eligible for Study:18 Years
Sexes Eligible for Study:ALL
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:No
Standard Ages:ADULT, OLDER_ADULT
Inclusion CriteriaExclusion Criteria
  1. * Veterans enrolled at VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System
  2. * non-specific low back pain confirmed through electronic medical records (i.e., ICD-10 codes: M54.5, M54.40, 41, 42, M54.89)
  3. * reported pain severity of 4/10 that has persisted for at least 3 months and present on most days
  4. * medically stable (no hospitalizations in the past month lasting 3 or more days)
  5. * no changes in pain medication regimen in past 4 weeks
  6. * no planned surgery or injections for back pain during the next 10 weeks
  1. * pregnant
  2. * had back surgery in the past 2 years
  3. * received acupuncture or acupressure in past 3 months
  4. * evidence of cognitive impairment that could interfere with the ability to provide consent and follow the study protocol (defined as a score of 3 using the Callahan et al. 6-item screener)

Contacts and Locations

Study Contact

Sarah L Krein, PhD RN
CONTACT
(734) 845-3621
Sarah.Krein@va.gov
Jennifer L Caldararo
CONTACT
(734) 222-7428
Jennifer.Caldararo@va.gov

Principal Investigator

Sarah L. Krein, PhD RN
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI

Study Locations (Sites)

VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI
Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48105-2303
United States

Collaborators and Investigators

Sponsor: VA Office of Research and Development

  • Sarah L. Krein, PhD RN, PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI

Study Record Dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Registration Dates

Study Start Date2022-10-03
Study Completion Date2025-11-07

Study Record Updates

Study Start Date2022-10-03
Study Completion Date2025-11-07

Terms related to this study

Keywords Provided by Researchers

  • acupressure
  • complementary therapies

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

  • Low Back Pain