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Completed Not applicable Interventional Accepts healthy volunteers

The Pain in Amputees Reduced by Administration of Diet Examination

ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT05460845

Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT05460845. 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.

ClinicalTrials.gov public records Last synced Sep 8, 2026, 4:29 PM EDT

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Official title

Low-Carbohydrate Diet to Reduce Pain and Increase Quality of Life in Amputees

Brief summary

Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.

Phantom limb pain (PLP) is defined as pain or discomfort in a missing limb following amputation, whereas residual limb pain (RLP) is often experienced as pain at the site of amputation. Unfortunately, PLP can affect as many as 80% of upper- or lower-extremity amputees, with 40-60% also experiencing RLP. There are many theories regarding the mechanisms underlying these types of pain, but effective treatments remain elusive .Amputation of a limb is often accompanied by a traumatic event that can be emotionally devastating. Consequently, studies have reported high levels of depression in this population, up to 80%. Other studies have reported elevated levels of depression (70%), suicidality (30%) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD, 20%) with PTSD being highly correlated with PLP. Thus, it is critical that effective treatments be employed that address, not only the chronic pain, but the comorbid conditions as well. Diet interventions have been utilized as a non-pharmacological method to reduce pain and/or inflammation. We have shown that a low-carbohydrate diet (LCD) reduced pain independent of weight loss. Importantly, we observed a reduction in depressive symptomology and improved quality of life (QOL) following the LCD. Thus, it is reasonable to expect that the LCD may have beneficial effects of pain experience and also on measures of QOL. Phase 1: To characterize the dietary habits, pain severity and psychological well-being of the local amputee population. Hypotheses: We expect that the local population will show high prevalence of phantom limb pain (PLP) and/or residual limb pain (RLP). Self-report of depressive symptomology, poor-quality diet, will coincide with low QOL reports. Phase 2: To assess the feasibility and efficacy of a low-carbohydrate diet (LCD) to reduce pain and increase QOL in amputees. Hypotheses: All participants will complete the 6-week LCD. Compared to baseline, a 6-week LCD will reduce self-reports of pain and depressive symptoms. Overall QOL will improve over 6 weeks with concomitant improved mood and sleep.

Study identification

NCT ID
NCT05460845
Recruitment status
Completed
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Not applicable
Enrollment
28 participants

Conditions and interventions

Eligibility (public fields only)

Age range
18 Years to 65 Years
Sex
All
Healthy volunteers
Accepts healthy volunteers

This page does not interpret eligibility. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are on the official ClinicalTrials.gov record.

Study timeline

Start date
Jun 30, 2022
Primary completion
Aug 27, 2023
Completion
Aug 27, 2023
Last update posted
Aug 29, 2023

2022 – 2023

United States locations

U.S. sites
1
U.S. states
1
U.S. cities
1
Facility City State ZIP Site status
University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham Alabama 35294

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 NCT05460845, 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 Aug 29, 2023 · Synced Sep 8, 2026

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