Comparative Effectiveness of Two Different Approaches to Radiofrequency Ablation of Lumbar Medial Branch Nerves
Starting soon · Not applicable
Conditions studied: Lumbar Spondylosis
In brief
The purpose of this voluntary research study is to determine whether the parasagittal approach to lumbar medial branch (LMB) nerve radio frequency ablation (RFA) will have greater efficacy than the traditional approach to lumbar medial branch nerve radio frequency ablation.
Key facts
- Study ID
- NCT06283628
- Run by
- Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
- People needed
- 25
- Starts
- 2026-08-01
- Expected to finish
- 2026-12-30
- Last updated by the study team
- 2026-07-23
Who can join
Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.
You may qualify if…
- Bilateral equally intense axial low back pain
- Pain duration of ≥ 6 months
- Three-day average NRS scores of ≥ 3/10
- Age greater than 18 years
- Failure of conservative treatment, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications and physical therapy
- Positive response to a series of two bilateral diagnostic lumbar medial branch nerve blocks (≥ 80% pain relief). This is the current standard of care.
You may not qualify if…
- Radicular pain below the knee
- Systemic infection or localized infection at the anticipated introducer entry site
- Pregnancy
- Allergy to Lidocaine
- Bleeding dyscrasias
- Patients unable to give informed consent
- History of lumbar spine surgery at the affected levels
- History of previous bilateral lumbar RFA of medial branches within the past six months.
- Significant comorbid somatization or widespread pain with central sensitization
- Secondary gain identified due to ongoing legal proceedings or worker's compensation
- Cognitive impairment
- Any pre-existing condition at the discretion of the provider that may confound interpretation of results -
Where it is running
- Penn State Hershey College of Medicine — Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States
Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov
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