Journal of Pain Research (Jun 2025)

Effect of Telemedicine-Supported Structured Exercise Program in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

  • Feng Y,
  • Jia C,
  • Liu H,
  • Bao T,
  • Wang C,
  • Wang Z,
  • Huang J,
  • Jiang Y,
  • Wang X,
  • Zhang R,
  • Zhang Y,
  • Zhang S,
  • Zhu S,
  • He C

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 18, no. Issue 1
pp. 2809 – 2822

Abstract

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Yuan Feng,1– 3,* Chengsen Jia,1,2,* Huizhen Liu,4 Tianjie Bao,1,2 Chongyang Wang,1,2,5 Zezhang Wang,1,2 Jielei Huang,1,2 Yiwen Jiang,1,2 Xiaoyi Wang,1,2 Ruishi Zhang,1,2 Yujia Zhang,1,2 Shaojun Zhang,6 Siyi Zhu,1,2 Chengqi He1,2 1Rehabilitation Medicine Center and Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China; 2Key Laboratory of Rehabilitation Medicine in Sichuan Province, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, People’s Republic of China; 4Center for Biostatistics, Design, Measurement and Evaluation (CBDME), West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 6Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Deyang Clinical Research Center for Rehabilitation Medicine, Mianzhu People’s Hospital, Mianzhu, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Siyi Zhu, Rehabilitation Medicine Center and Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, #37 Guoxue Alley, Wuhou District, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China, Email [email protected]: Telemedicine-based structured exercise programs have the potential to benefit patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP). However, evidence-practice gaps persist, including low exercise adherence and insufficient focus on mental health. Consequently, further research is warranted to clarify the impact of telemedicine-supported structured exercise programs on patients with CLBP.Patients and Methods: This randomized controlled trial will include patients with CLBP who have not received exercise therapy in the past three months. Participants in the trial group will receive patient education, health coaching, and home-based exercise therapy via mobile health (mHealth) applications loaded with wearable device integration. Those in the control group will receive conventional treatment, comprising patient education and written instructions for home exercises. Disability including pain intensity will be assessed as primary outcomes using the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) and the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) at baseline, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks. Statistical analyses will depend on assumptions such as homogeneity of variance and sphericity: if met, a two-factor, three-level repeated measures analysis of variance will be used; otherwise, a linear mixed-effects model will be employed.Keywords: low back pain, telemedicine, exercise, study protocol, randomized controlled trial

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