Longitudinal Imaging of Lumbar Patients and Controls

MRI Longitudinal imaging for acute lumbar pain

Status

Not yet recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ANZCTR

Registry ID

ACTRN12614000147684

Acronym

LILAC

Enrollment

Registered

2014-02-05

Start date

2014-02-10

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2020-01-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

Back pain is very common, and the leading cause of disability in Australia. The relationship between MRI findings and symptoms in people with LBP remains unclear. There are very few high quality research papers investigating the relationship between MRI findings and low back pain. Very few studies have performed repeated MRIs and in these studies scans have been separated by long periods of time. Almost nothing is known about the changes in MRI findings in the first 6 weeks after an episode of low back pain despite this being the critical time period when most changes in clinical symptoms occur. To investigate the potential importance of MRI findings as a source of low back pain, it is essential to track these findings closely during an episode of low back pain and investigate the relationship between changes in MRI and changes in patient’s symptoms.

Interventions

Participants with acute lumbar pain will be observed. We will recruit participants within 2 weeks of the onset of pain and perform the initial MRI scan within 3 weeks of pain onset. We will use MRI scanning to observe any possible changes that occur over 12 weeks. We will aim to scan participants at Week 1, Week 2, Week 6 and Week 12 from initial baseline scan.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

15 Years to 50 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

For case participants: 1. Present to a primary care practitioner with recent onset low back pain of less than 2 weeks duration 2. To be available to enrol in study and have initial MRI scan within 3 weeks from onset of pain episode 3. Current pain intensity greater than or equal to 5 on numerical pain rating scale (0-10 scale) 4. The current episode of low back pain started suddenly (pain intensity increased by at least 5 points on NPRS over a period of less than 24 hours) 5. Age less than 50 years of age For control participants: 1. No current low back pain 2. A maximum of two previous low back episodes.

Exclusion criteria

1. Nerve root compromise, previous spinal surgery, canal stenosis, fracture, cancer, inflammatory joint diseases, infection, or “cauda equina” syndrome 2. Inadequate English language or cognitive abilities to complete outcome measures 3. Contraindication to MRI.

Outcome results