ArticleFrontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland)2025
Novel multimodal mechanical stimulation is superior to TENS to treat and prevent chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled trial.
Article in Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04494698 (Addressing Pain and Disability From Low Back Pain With an External Multimodal Neuromodulation Device), which is not on this map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Addressing Pain and Disability From Low Back Pain With an External Multimodal Neuromodulation Device
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Exploring the Role of a Noninvasive Audio-Based Therapeutic System for Pain and Symptom Relief: Single-Arm Exploratory Pilot Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Background: Low back pain (LBP) is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Up to half of moderate-to-severe acute LBP (aLBP) progress to chronic (cLBP), with neuromotor, fascial, and muscle pathology contributing to inoperable mechanical disability. A novel thermomechanical stimulation (M-Stim) device delivering stochastic and targeted vibration frequencies relieved LBP in a pilot. Efficacy versus an active control, for cLBP prevention, or reversing disability was undetermined. Methods: As part of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) double-blind, randomized controlled trial, 159 chiropractic patients with non-radiating moderate-to-severe LBP [Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) ≥4] were randomized to add either the multimodal M-Stim device or 4-lead transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for 30 minutes daily to other therapies. Between June 2022 and July 2024, pain scores, analgesic use, and device adherence were recorded for 28 days, with weekly follow-up up to 6 months. Primary outcomes included PROMIS Pain Interference scores, NRS pain scores, and transition from aLBP to cLBP (Pain Interference ≥55 at 3 months). Exploratory analyses examined higher-severity subgroups, including those meeting NIH Research Task Force (RTF) criteria, obesity, longer pain duration, and an integrated analysis with common criteria for intractable inoperable mechanical cLBP. Results: For 44 aLBP and 115 cLBP participants [mean age 42.6, 54% female, BMI 30.9 (SD 6.19), NRS 5.51 (SD 2.15)], M-Stim was noninferior to TENS for initial and 10-day relief. Over time, Linear Mixed Models (intention-to-treat) showed M-Stim significantly improved pain and disability for both aLBP and cLBP, ( Conclusions: A multimodal M-Stim device reduced progression to cLBP significantly more than TENS. Both devices reduced pain initially, but M-Stim reduced pain and disability significantly more over time, particularly in cLBP subsets with higher severity, duration, or BMI. Clinical Trial Registration: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04494698, identifier NCT04494698.
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