Trial to Test the Efficacy of Using Magnetic Fields to Stimulate the Back to Treat Chronic Lower Back Pain.
A Single-Blind Randomized Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy of High Vector Electrokinetics (HiVE), A Form of Peripheral Magnetic Stimulation, In Treatment of Chronic Back Pain
2 other identifiers
interventional
88
1 country
1
Brief Summary
The goal of this study is to see if a new way to treat back pain without the use of medications is effective. We plan use Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), a wand-like device, to excite the nerves of people with lower back pain to see if we can decrease pain and improve quality of life. This study will have two groups and randomly assign participants to a group. One group will have their back nerves stimulated with the TMS device and the other group will not. Participants will also need to do back exercises at home once a day, and complete questionnaires at each visit before and after each treatment. The total time commitment will be 5 to10 visits with one visit occurring each weekday and each visit lasting up to 30 minutes.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P50-P75 for not_applicable
Started Jul 2026
Shorter than P25 for not_applicable
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
First Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
May 27, 2026
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
June 17, 2026
CompletedStudy Start
First participant enrolled
July 1, 2026
ExpectedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
November 1, 2026
Study Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
February 1, 2027
June 17, 2026
May 1, 2026
4 months
May 27, 2026
June 11, 2026
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
Visual Analog Scale
Visual Analog Scale or VAS is a common self reported pain measurement scale from 0 - 100 with 0 being pain free and 100 being most pain possible.
VAS numbers are obtained at: Baseline, pre-intervention. Immediately before each intervention Immediately after each intervention
Secondary Outcomes (1)
ODI
Scores are obtained at: Baseline, pre-intervention. Immediately after intervention session 2 Immediately after intervention session 5 Immediately after intervention session 10 for those that elect to opt in for open label portion of study
Study Arms (2)
Treatment Arm
EXPERIMENTALIndividuals in this arm receive magnetic stimulation to the area of the lower back where they have pain from sessions 1 through 5. We begin stimulation operation at 20% advancing in 5% increments to maximum of 35% machine power which in our case is approximately 0.3 tesla to 0.58 tesla of power (a typical outpatient MRI is 1.5 to 3 tesla). The power of the unit will be titrated up to the maximum 35% based on patient tolerance by asking participants to "Tell me if you feel a painful muscle contraction". Patients receiving active therapy would be able to feel the stimulus usually described as a vibration sensation. If patients report painful muscle contractions, stop and go back by 5%. Doing this helps ensure that we would not cause any potentially painful muscle contractions and avoid confounding our test data. The first treatment will start at 20% power then increase by 5% until the titrated power level is identified, subsequent treatments will start at the power level last used.
Sham Arm
SHAM COMPARATORThe investigators will configure the rPMS device to not utilize any power, then place the treatment wand over the participant's back pain area and hit the start button like they do in the treatment arm. When the power setting is set to zero, the magnetic wand will not generate any power but will still make the customary computer-generated tones as it does in normal operation. The device is set to play a completed tone once 2 minutes and 30 seconds have elapsed just as it does in the normal treatment. The investigator will then replace the wand back to the storage position and notify the patient that the session is completed. Following completion of 5 sessions, the sham group will be offered to receive up to 5 sessions of real rPMS stimulation. The data from the sham treatment and real rPMS treatment for these patients will be tracked separately.
Interventions
Our stimulation protocol is ssing approximately 0.3 tesla to 0.58 tesla of magnetic power using a variable stimulation frequency between 11ms and 14ms with center value of 13ms between pulses. This translates to estimated values of lower bounds of 71.43 Hz, central value of 83 Hz, and maximum value of 99 Hz .
All patients will receive a home exercise guide and recommended to perform the stated number of repetitions of those exercises. Exercises include Neutral Curl Up with Straight Leg, Plank on Elbow, and Bird Dog positions.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Diagnosed with chronic low back pain (greater than or equal to 12 weeks) with or without concurrent neck pain.
- Low back pain in the paraspinal region (L1-S2) by asking the patient to point to their area of pain.
- years old (on the day of informed consent)
- Willing and able to attend all study visits.
- No medication changes for at least 30 days before study enrollment (self-report)
- Eligible for care at participating military treatment facilities
- Able to read and understand English.
- Negative pregnancy test for women capable of pregnancy.
You may not qualify if:
- Diagnosed with low back pain of less than 12 weeks duration
- History of back fractures or surgical repair of the back
- History of depression with vagus nerve stimulation
- Any type of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), or rPMS treatment prior to study enrollment.
- Currently using any other adjunctive treatments for chronic back pain such as low-level laser treatment, ultrasound, dry needling, chiropractor manipulations, cervical collars, TENS units, or other stimulation, eastern medicine regimens including Qi Gong or Tai Chi. (Exception: strength building physical therapy, non-neuropathic pain modifiers, and non-anticonvulsant routine pain medicine regimens such as NSAIDS and Acetaminophen are allowed).Scheduled for nerve ablation, dry needling, trigger point injections, nerve block, therapeutic ultrasound, other stimulation, or similar adjunct treatments during the study period.
- Diagnosed with a specific low back pain: osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, phantom limb pain, central pain syndrome, spinal cord damage, myofascial pain syndrome, or other more specific diagnosis (at investigators discretion).
- Unstable or poorly controlled mental health diagnosis (e.g., current changes in medication or medical management).
- Dermal or subdermal implants (e.g., aneurysm clips, shunts, stimulators, ferro magnetic implants, stents, or electrodes, or pacemakers) or any other metal object within or near the site of stimulation which cannot be safely removed.
- Clinically significant abnormality or clinically significant unstable medical condition that, in the investigator's judgment, might pose a potential safety risk to the subject or limit interpretation of the trial results.
- Any condition which, in the judgment of the investigator, would prevent the patient from completing study procedures.
- Pregnancy
- Younger than 18 years old (on the day of informed consent)
- Older than 64 years old (on the day of informed consent)
- NOT willing or able to attend all study visits.
- Medication changes for back pain less than 30 days prior to study enrollment (self-report)
- +2 more criteria
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
- Joe X. Zhanglead
Study Sites (1)
412 Medical Group
Edwards Air Force Base, California, 93524, United States
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Interventions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- STUDY DIRECTOR
Joe Zhang, MD
United States Air Force
Central Study Contacts
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- SINGLE
- Who Masked
- PARTICIPANT
- Masking Details
- The test is single blind because the investigators will have to manipulate the treatment device so they will know what the settings are. Only participants that have not experienced magnetic stimulation can be blinded to the study.
- Purpose
- TREATMENT
- Intervention Model
- CROSSOVER
- Sponsor Type
- FED
- Responsible Party
- SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
- PI Title
- Commander
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
May 27, 2026
First Posted
June 17, 2026
Study Start (Estimated)
July 1, 2026
Primary Completion (Estimated)
November 1, 2026
Study Completion (Estimated)
February 1, 2027
Last Updated
June 17, 2026
Record last verified: 2026-05
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will share
- Shared Documents
- STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF, CSR
- Time Frame
- Will be available at the conclusion of data collection (estimated Nov 2026) and be available for up to 2 years (Nov 2028)
- Access Criteria
- De-identified data can be made available upon request. Data is stored on secured government systems and cannot be actively reviewed without permission and assistance from investigation team. A formal request needs to be coordinated with the research team to be able to gain access to the data sheets.
measured variables such as VAS and ODI scales for the study along with power tolerated by de-identified individuals using participant ID only can be shared.