MedPath

Fitbit Pilot Study in Post-operative Lumbar Degenerative Spinal Stenosis Patients

Not Applicable
Conditions
Lumbar Degenerative Spinal Stenosis
Interventions
Behavioral: Fitbit
Behavioral: Blinded Fitbit
Registration Number
NCT03337178
Lead Sponsor
The London Spine Centre
Brief Summary

Spinal stenosis is a common orthopedic spine condition that limits individuals ability to walk and stand because of nerve compression. Surgical treatment can alleviate leg pain and improve function such as increasing physical activity. This study will use Fitbit technology to monitor patient's post-operative physical activity. It will evaluate the efficacy of a Fitbit incentive based walking program on improving post-operative physical activity and rehabilitation.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
UNKNOWN
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
60
Inclusion Criteria
  • 60 years of age and older
  • diagnosed with neurogenic claudication or radiculopathy secondary to central or lateral recess stenosis between L3-L5 confirmed by CT or MRI
  • consent for surgical treatment
Exclusion Criteria
  • traumatic stenosis from a pathologic fracture
  • inflammatory spine disease
  • peripheral arterial disease
  • hip or knee arthritis or pulmonary or circulatory diseases for which exercise is contraindicated
  • severe or progressive neurologic deficit effecting ambulatory ability
  • cancer
  • no access to a computer or mobile device
  • inability to complete the questionnaires or provide follow-up (i.e. lack of permanent address, substance abuse, interfering psychiatric illness).

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
FitbitFitbitFitbit plus step goal and activity feedback
Blinded FitbitBlinded FitbitBlinded Fitbit, no step goal, and no activity feedback
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Self-Paced Walking TestChange in 3 months post-op from baseline

Variability of the self-paced walking test

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Self-paced walking testChange in 3 months post-op from baseline

Self-paced walk test (SPWT) is a validated measure of walking capacity in lumbar degenerative spinal stenosis. The individual walks comfortably at his/her own pace until he/she must rest due to symptoms of back or leg pain. The total time and distance walked is recorded, time/distance to onset of symptoms, and nature and location of symptoms (pain numbness/tingling, weakness or fatigue), average walking speed, and reason for termination (symptoms of LSS, fatigue, shortness of breath, pain, other comorbidities). Patients are not permitted to use an assistive device. The test is either self-terminated (complete stop of 3 seconds or more) due to symptoms or at 30 minutes whichever occurs first. Participants are asked to indicate when they first experience symptoms.

Leg PainChange in 3 months post-op from baseline

Numeric Rating Score for Leg Pain. The (NRS) for leg pain numeric rating scale ranges from 0 to 10, with lower scores indicating less severe symptoms

Back PainChange in 3 months post-op from baseline

Numeric Rating Score for Back Pain. The (NRS) for back pain numeric rating scale ranges from 0 to 10, with lower scores indicating less severe symptoms

General HealthChange in 3 months post-op from baseline

General health assessed by SF12. The SF12 is a generic, multidimensional self-report health questionnaire and is validated when applied to the spine patient. Questions are categorized into scales for general health, physical functioning, social functioning, role limitation-physical, role limitation-emotional, mental health, energy/fatigue, pain, comparative health. These are summarized into the SF12-physical component summary score (PCS) and mental component summary score (MCS). Scores range from 0 to 100. Higher scores imply better functioning.

Functional AbilityChange in 3 months post-op from baseline

Functional ability assessed by Swiss Spinal Stenosis Questionnaire. Swiss spinal stenosis questionnaire (SSS) is a validated 12-item condition-specific instrument for lumbar degenerative spinal stenosis that is known to be internally consistent and reliable and responsive to clinical change. It is a self-reported measure of pain and physical function. Higher scores represent worse physical function. The score for physical function was calculated as the un-weighted mean of the five items of the scale. The resulting possible scores of 1-4 represent mild to severe limitation in physical function. The Symptom Severity Scale will be used by averaging the scores the seven items. Responses range from 1-7 indicating mild to severe pain.

Patient RecruitmentNumber consented by 17 months

Participants will be included if they are 60 years of age and older, diagnosed with neurogenic claudication or radiculopathy secondary to central or lateral recess stenosis between L3-L5 confirmed by CT or MRI, and consent for surgical treatment. Include patients with Grade 1 spondylolithesis. Patients will be excluded if the stenosis was not degenerative (i.e. traumatic stenosis from a pathologic fracture), they had inflammatory spine disease, they had peripheral arterial disease, or pulmonary or circulatory diseases for which exercise is contraindicated, osteoarthritis in the lower extremities, severe or progressive neurologic deficit requiring urgent surgery, cancer, previous lumbar surgery, they have no access to a computer or mobile device, an inability to complete the questionnaires or provide follow-up (i.e. lack of permanent address, substance abuse, interfering psychiatric illness).

Steps walked/dayChange in 3 months post-op from baseline

Comparison of Fitbit activity data of steps taken between groups

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

London Health Sciences Centre

🇨🇦

London, Ontario, Canada

© Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved by MedPath