Who is eligible for clinical trial NCT06471920?

Participants must meet protocol criteria for Chronic Low-back Pain. Confirm exact inclusion and exclusion requirements with the study coordinator.

Does clinical trial NCT06471920 provide travel or cost reimbursement?

Check with the site coordinator at the participating facility for travel and lodging stipend availability, and for which routine-care costs are covered.

🏛️ Verified NIH Record • Updated 2026-07-20

Improving Health for Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain in Rural Communities Through Telerehabilitation (NCT06471920)

🟢 Recruiting Observational / Diagnostic 🧠 Behavioral & Psychological Program Sponsor: Johns Hopkins University

🩺 Plain-English Summary (8th-Grade Level)

Physical therapy is the first line of treatment for patients with low back pain (LBP) and has been shown to be a cost-effective method for improving pain and disability in patients with chronic LBP; however, despite this effectiveness, only 7-13% of patients go on to receive physical therapy services with patients in rural communities being especially limited to do lack of provider availability, transportation, and missed work time leading to greater rates of LBP-related disability and opioid consumption. With the rapid emergence of digital treatment approaches to physical therapy (i.e., telerehabilitation), access could be improved by reducing or eliminating many barriers that patients report; however, it is unclear how to appropriately incorporate digital treatment approaches into existing health care models. The investigators propose a prospective randomized clinical trial conducted at a health system serving rural communities to determine the effectiveness of innovative risk-informed telerehabilitation versus standard educational control for patients with chronic LBP that will match individual patients with specific physical therapy delivery (physical therapy telehealth visits or psychologically informed physical therapy telehealth visits) based on the patient's psychosocial risk of poor outcomes.

Who can join: To join this study, participants generally need to meet the listed inclusion criteria (6 items) and avoid the listed exclusions (6 items).

Location: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine — Baltimore, Maryland

📋 "Do I Qualify?" — 1-Minute Self Screener

Instant Checklist

Check every box below. If you can check all of them, you may meet the study's basic screening requirements (final eligibility is confirmed by the site team).

Primary care visit in the past 90 days with an LBP-related International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) diagnosis.
Age 18 years or older.
At least moderate levels of pain and disability requiring Oswestry score ≥24% and average pain rating ≥ 4/10 points.
Meets NIH Task Force definition of chronic LBP based on two questions: 1) How long has LBP has been an ongoing problem? and 2) How often has LBP been an ongoing problem over the past 6 months? A response of greater than 3 months to question 1, and "at least half the days in the past 6 months" to question 2 is required to satisfy the NIH definition of chronic LBP.
Can speak and understand English.
Access to video-enabled device and Internet.

Usually NOT eligible if any of the following apply:

Exclusion Criteria:
Recent history (last 6 months) of lumbar spine surgery.
Possible non-musculoskeletal cause for low back pain symptoms (e.g., pregnancy).
Evidence of serious pathology as a cause of LBP including neoplasm, inflammatory disease (e.g., ankylosing spondylitis), vertebral osteomyelitis, etc.
Neurological disorder resulting in severe movement disorder, or schizophrenia or other psychotic disorder.
Knowingly pregnant.

🔍 Extracted verbatim from the official NIH eligibility criteria. Always confirm with the study coordinator.

📍 All Participating Trial Locations (2 Sites)

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine — Baltimore, Maryland
Tidalhealth — Salisbury, Maryland

💰 Cost, Insurance & Patient Rights

100% Free Items: The investigational treatment and protocol-required procedures are supplied at zero cost by the sponsor.
Routine Patient Care: Under federal law (ACA § 2709) and many state statutes, routine care costs are covered during participation.
Voluntary Participation: You may withdraw at any time without affecting your standard medical care.

🏛️ View Official NIH Record ↗