Study Comparing 3 Different Treatments for Arthritis of the Lower Back (Lumbar Spinal Stenosis)
Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT01943435. Field values are reproduced from the official study page; the official ClinicalTrials.gov record remains the source of truth for eligibility, enrollment, and contact information.
Data is sourced from official ClinicalTrials.gov public API records. Always review the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for the latest information.
Official title
A Comparison of Non-Surgical Treatment Methods for Patients With Lumbar Spinal Stenosis
Brief summary
Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.
BACKGROUND: Lumbar spinal stenosis - known by patients as "arthritis of the spine" - is a condition that is very common; found in about 30% of older adults. It is the most common reason for people over the age of 65 to have back surgery. Some patients with stenosis do not need back surgery and can be treated with other methods, such as physical therapy, chiropractic, exercise, and medication. But we just don't have enough good research to tell us which treatment works best for which patient and under which circumstances. This research study hopes to provide more information about the effectiveness of the various non-surgical choices for managing stenosis. OBJECTIVES: This study will directly compare the effectiveness of three common non-surgical treatment approaches for stenosis: 1. Medical care that involves prescription medications and/or spinal injections (epidurals) 2. Group exercise in supervised classes given in a community center setting 3. Hands-on (manual) therapy and rehabilitative exercises given in a clinic setting by physical therapists and chiropractors METHODS: This research study will involve 259 adults who are at least 60 years old and have been diagnosed with lumbar spinal stenosis. The research volunteers will be divided into three groups, each group receiving one of the 3 types of treatments listed above under "Objectives". The determination of which type of treatment each person receives will be determined by chance, using a computerized version of flipping a coin. This is a process known as randomization, which scientists think reduces the bias in research studies. A series of tests and questionnaires will be given to the patients before and after they get treatment and comparisons will be made to see how much improvement they made with each of the types of treatments. Finally, the researchers will compare the differences between the 3 treatment groups to see if certain types of treatment produced better results than others, and if there were any examination findings that could be used to predict which type of patient would do better with which type of treatment.
Study identification
- NCT ID
- NCT01943435
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Not applicable
- Enrollment
- 259 participants
Conditions and interventions
Conditions
Interventions
- NSAIDs; adjunctive analgesics; adjunctive anti-depressants Drug
- Lumbar epidural injection Procedure
- Joint Mobilizations (spine, sacroiliac, hip) Other
- Individualized exercises: clinical setting Other
- Group Exercise: community setting Other
Drug · Procedure · Other
Eligibility (public fields only)
- Age range
- 60 Years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Healthy volunteers not accepted
This page does not interpret eligibility. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are on the official ClinicalTrials.gov record.
Study timeline
- Start date
- Nov 19, 2013
- Primary completion
- Jun 6, 2016
- Completion
- Jun 9, 2016
- Last update posted
- Apr 1, 2018
2013 – 2016
United States locations
- U.S. sites
- 1
- U.S. states
- 1
- U.S. cities
- 1
| Facility | City | State | ZIP | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UPMC Shadyside Center for Integrative Medicine | Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | 15232 | — |
Site contact phone numbers, emails, and investigator names are intentionally not displayed here. Open the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for site contact information.
About this trial record page
- What this page shows
- Public field values for ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT01943435, including study identification, conditions, interventions, eligibility (age, sex, healthy volunteer), timeline, and U.S. site list.
- What this page does not do
- No medical advice, eligibility judgments, treatment recommendations, study quality scoring, or AI-generated medical summaries. No site contact phone numbers, emails, or investigator names.
- Where the data comes from
- Sourced from the official ClinicalTrials.gov public API. The official record is the source of truth.
- Last refresh
- Last update posted Apr 1, 2018 · Synced Sep 4, 2026
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Open the official record
The complete protocol, eligibility criteria, and contact information for NCT01943435 live on ClinicalTrials.gov.