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N/A N=31 Randomized Double-blind Treatment

Virtual Reality Guided Acupuncture Imagery Treatment for Chronic Low Back Pain

Chronic Low-back Pain

Enrolled (actual)
31
Serious AEs
0.0%
Results posted
Jan 2026
Primary outcome: Primary: Retention — 14; 14 Participants

Study Design & Population

Study type
Interventional
Phase
N/A
Interventions
Virtual reality guided imagery acupuncture treatment (VRGAIT) (Other); Virtual reality guided imagery acupuncture treatment control (Other)
Age
Adult, Older Adult · 18+ yrs
Sex
All
Sponsor
Massachusetts General Hospital
Primary completion
Jan 2025

Outcome Measures

OutcomeResultp-value
PRIMARY
Retention
14; 14
PRIMARY
Satisfaction to the Interventions
4.7; 3.9
PRIMARY
Number of Adverse Events (Safety of the Intervention)
0; 0
SECONDARY
PROMIS-29
1; 0.5
SECONDARY
Pain Bothersomeness Scale
2; 0.71
SECONDARY
MGH Acupuncture Sensation Scale (MASS)
9.0; 4.5
SECONDARY
Vividness Scale
8.6; 7.9

Summary

Testing the effect of Virtual Reality - guided imagery acupuncture

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

  • Volunteers 18-75 years of age.
  • Meet the Classification Criteria of chronic LBP (having low back pain for more than 6 months), as determined by the referring physician.
  • At least 4/10 clinical pain on the 11-point LBP intensity scale.
  • Must have had a prior evaluation of their low back pain by a health care provider, which may have included radiographic studies. Documentation of this evaluation will be sought from Partners or outside medical records and kept in the subject's research record.
  • At least a 10th grade English-reading level; English can be a second language provided that the patients feel they understand all the questions used in the assessment measures.

Exclusion Criteria

  • Specific causes of back pain (e.g. cancer, fractures, infections),
  • Complicated back problems (e.g. prior back surgery, medico legal issues),
  • Possible contraindications for acupuncture (e.g. coagulation disorders, cardiac pacemakers, pregnancy, seizure disorder), and conditions that might confound longitudinal effects or interpretation of results (e.g. severe fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis).
  • Conditions making study participation difficult (eg, paralysis, psychoses, or other severe psychological problems as per the judgment of a study investigator during Session 1)
  • The intent to undergo surgery during the time of involvement in the study.
  • Unresolved medical legal/disability/workers compensation claims in connection with low back pain.
  • Lacking the capacity to consent for oneself
  • Do not have access to zoom or other software regularly to complete the study.
View full record on ClinicalTrials.gov →

Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT06814470). Outcome figures and adverse-event rates are extracted automatically from the registry's posted results and are provided for clinician reference, not as a substitute for the primary publication.

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