Yoga for Veterans with Chronic Low Back Pain

This study is looking at how well yoga can help Veterans with chronic low back pain (pain lasting more than 3 months) over a long time. It compares two types of yoga: "Standard Yoga," which involves weekly classes and home practice videos for 12 weeks, and "Enhanced Yoga," which adds six one-on-one coaching sessions to the standard yoga program. The goal is to see if these yoga programs can reduce your pain and disability, and if you continue practicing yoga for up to 18 months. You might be able to join if you're a VA patient, have chronic low back pain rated 4/10 or higher, haven't started new pain treatments recently, and haven't practiced much yoga in the past six months. The study's current status is unclear.

Study design
This interventional study plans to enroll 176 participants. It will compare two different yoga programs to see which is more effective.
What's involved
You would attend weekly yoga classes for 12 weeks, practice yoga at home, and complete five assessments. You would also respond to text assessments.
Compensation
Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up
The study will track your yoga practice and disability levels for up to 18 months after you enroll.

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NCT07053787

Durability of Yoga for Veterans With Low Back Pain

Not Yet Recruiting
NAAges 18+InterventionalTreatment
VA Office of Research and Development
~176 participants
Updated 2026-07-16 on ClinicalTrials.gov
What's tested:Standard YogaEnhanced Yoga

At a glance

Recruiting sites
0 of 1 listed site is recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
Days and minutes per week of yoga practice - Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) of Yoga
Measured over Baseline to 18 months
+1 more outcome measured
Chronic Low Back Pain
1 sites across 1 states
California1
  • Erik J. Groessl, PhD BA BS · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA

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Eligibility criteria

Inclusion

VA patients
Diagnosis of chronic low back pain \> 3 months
Pain rated 4/10 or higher
No new pain treatments in the past month
Willing to attend intervention
Complete 5 assessments
Respond to text assessments
Practiced yoga \< 3x in the last 6 months
Unless medically necessary, agree to not change pain treatment during intervention

Exclusion

Back surgery within the last 1 year
Pain due to specific systemic (e.g., scleroderma, fibromyalgia) or non-musculoskeletal problem (neuropathy)
Positive Romberg test (with or without sensory neuropathy)
Severe vertebral disk problems, sciatica or nerve compression \>3 months
Serious or unstable psychiatric illness (e.g., unmanaged psychosis, manic episode, or substance dependence)
Serious coexisting medical illness (e.g., cancer, COPD, BMI\> 40)
  • Days and minutes per week of yoga practice - Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) of YogaBaseline to 18 months

    The investigators will employ EMA to assess weekly yoga practices across the whole 18-month study period. Because yoga includes both mind and body components, as well as movements that are not aerobic in nature, yoga cannot be assessed like other physical activities using accelerometers. EMA has been shown to enhance self-report because it occurs randomly, so as not subject to recall bias, and frequently so is not subject to recall errors. The investigators will ask how many minutes of yoga, if any, have been performed on the assessment day and whether it was performed at home or at an in-person class. Participants will receive an EMAs every week across the 18-monthstudy period. If participants do not respond within 90 minutes, a reminder will be sent. If there is still no response, they will be sampled again in the next 24 hours at a different time of day.

  • Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ)Change from baseline to 18 months

    The RMDQ will serve as the primary health outcome and consists of 23 questions about limitations experienced for a variety of daily activities. The scale has been shown to be reliable and is well validated. It has been used in other studies of yoga studies. Scores range from 0 to 23, with higher scores indicating more back pain-related disability.