Status:
NOT_YET_RECRUITING
Psychological Options for Wellness and Recovery (POWeR) Trial for Veterans With Chronic Back/Neck Pain
Lead Sponsor:
University of Colorado, Denver
Collaborating Sponsors:
VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System
United States Department of Defense
Conditions:
Chronic Pain
Back Pain
Eligibility:
All Genders
18+ years
Phase:
NA
Brief Summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn which treatment works better for veterans with chronic neck or back pain. This study is comparing three treatments: Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT), Cogniti...
Detailed Description
The current leading psychotherapeutic treatment for chronic pain is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT-CP), which has been found to be safe and modestly efficacious in the treatment of chronic back or ...
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion
- Adults (18 and older)
- Be veterans
- Have a history of chronic back or neck pain defined as pain at least half the days of the last 6 months.
- Have moderate or greater pain, defined as pain intensity ≥4 in the past week
Exclusion
- Clinical presentation suggestive of back pain that is secondary or peripheral in nature, including self-reported leg pain that is worse than back pain (indicative of radiculopathy or sciatica), spine surgery within the past 6 months, fall, motor vehicle accident or other trauma related to back pain in the past 6 months, back pain due to an inflammatory disorder, infection, or malignant etiology as determined per medical provider review, known sensory abnormality in trunk or legs, recent large (\>20 lbs) unexplained weight loss, difficulty controlling bowels (to screen out cauda equina syndrome), and self-reported diagnoses of specific inflammatory disorders (rheumatoid arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, scleroderma, Lupus, and polymyositis).
- Additionally, patients who meet any of the following criteria are ineligible due to anticipated difficulties complying with study procedures:
- Moderate or severe cognitive impairment
- Unstable or severe untreated mental health condition, including active suicidal ideation
- Unstable or end-stage medical disease including active cancer
- Back surgery planned within the next 6 months
- Inability to communicate by telephone or video, including inability due to housing instability
- Current pain-related litigation outside the VA (service connection-related applications are not excluded)
- Having engaged in CBT or PRT for chronic pain in the past 6 months
- Participants may be excluded based on the discretion of PIs Ashar and Frank
Key Trial Info
Start Date :
January 5 2026
Trial Type :
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation :
ESTIMATED
End Date :
September 1 2028
Estimated Enrollment :
360 Patients enrolled
Trial Details
Trial ID
NCT07137715
Start Date
January 5 2026
End Date
September 1 2028
Last Update
October 23 2025
Active Locations (1)
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1
VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System
Aurora, Colorado, United States, 80045