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Clinical Trials/NCT06384001
NCT06384001
Recruiting
Not Applicable

Mindfulness-based Meditation for Older Adults With Chronic Low Back Pain Based on the Gut-brain Axis: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Florida State University1 site in 1 country66 target enrollmentSeptember 24, 2025

Overview

Phase
Not Applicable
Intervention
Not specified
Conditions
Chronic Low Back Pain
Sponsor
Florida State University
Enrollment
66
Locations
1
Primary Endpoint
Change in pain intensity and interference
Status
Recruiting
Last Updated
6 months ago

Overview

Brief Summary

This pilot randomized controlled trial aims to recruit 66 community-dwelling older adults with chronic low back pain and follow up them for 8 weeks. This study aims to test the preliminary effect of a mindfulness-based meditation (MBM) intervention on pain and symptoms among community-dwelling older adults with chronic low back pain, and also to test the effect of the MBM intervention on the host Gut-Brain Axis (GBA).

Detailed Description

Aim 1: to test the preliminary effect of a mindfulness-based meditation (MBM) intervention on pain and symptoms among community-dwelling older adults with chronic low back pain. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that our active mindfulness-based meditation intervention will be feasible and acceptable to community-dwelling older adults with chronic low back pain and improve pain and symptoms to a greater extent than older adults randomized to a sham mindfulness-based meditation group. Aim 2: to test the effect of the mindfulness-based meditation intervention on the host Gut-Brain Axis (GBA). Hypothesis: We hypothesize that older adults randomized to the active mindfulness-based meditation intervention will have significantly improved compositional patterns and functional profiles of gut microbiota and increased pain-related cortical response measured by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to a greater extent than older adults randomized to the sham mindfulness-based meditation group at 2-weeks post-intervention, and 8-weeks follow up.

Registry
clinicaltrials.gov
Start Date
September 24, 2025
End Date
December 1, 2026
Last Updated
6 months ago
Study Type
Interventional
Study Design
Parallel
Sex
All

Investigators

Responsible Party
Principal Investigator
Principal Investigator

Jie Chen, PhD, RN

Principal Investigator

Florida State University

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

  • aged 50 years older
  • intact cognition (examined by the Mini-Mental State Exam, ≥ 24)
  • experiencing moderate low back pain daily or almost every day at least the previous three months (≥3 out of 10 on numeric rating scale \[NRS\])
  • able to speak and read English
  • not intent to change medication regimens for pain throughout the trial

Exclusion Criteria

  • serious underlying illness (e.g., malignant neoplasms, bloodborne illness, low blood platelet count, been in chemotherapy)
  • function limitation precluded the meditation practice
  • participated meditation program before
  • no access to the internet

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Change in pain intensity and interference

Time Frame: Baseline and 2 weeks and 8 weeks

Pain Inventory (BPI) will be used to assess the multidimensional aspects of pain, its location, intensity, and interference. A higher score indicated higher pain intensity with 0 indicating no pain and 10 indicating the worst pain. A higher score of pain interference means daily functions are more impacted by pain, and 0 indicates no pain interference, and 10 means the worst pain interference.

Secondary Outcomes

  • Change in pain sensitivities(Baseline and 2 weeks and 8 weeks)
  • Change in pain modulation(Baseline and 2 weeks and 8 weeks)
  • Change in chronic pain self-efficacy(Baseline and 2 weeks and 8 weeks)
  • Change in anxiety(Baseline and 2 weeks and 8 weeks)
  • Change in depression(Baseline and 2 weeks and 8 weeks)
  • Change in fatigue(Baseline and 2 weeks and 8 weeks)
  • Change in sleep disturbance(Baseline and 2 weeks and 8 weeks)
  • Change in pain-related cortical response(Baseline and 2 weeks and 8 weeks)
  • Measurement and comparison of fecal microbiota alpha diversity, beta diversity, and abundance of microbial taxa in the human gut(Baseline and 2 weeks and 8 weeks)

Study Sites (1)

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