Vibratory Stimulation for the Treatment of Chronic Pain

April 21, 2026 updated by: Jennifer Hah, Stanford University

Patterned Multichannel Vibratory Coordinated Reset (VCR) Stimulation for the Treatment of Chronic Pain

The purpose of this study is to perform a first in man study with VCR stimulation of the belly and back for patients with chronic pain conditions including pelvic pain, functional abdominal pain, or low back pain. This study will also examine VCR stimulation of the temporal region for patients with migraine with or without aura. Additional goals of the study will be to determine the safety, tolerability, and acceptability of VCR stimulation for the treatment of these pain conditions.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Suspended

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
50

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Palo Alto, California, United States, 94304
        • Stanford Neuroscience Health Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

14 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age greater than or equal to 18 years old.
  • Diagnosis of either chronic pelvic pain, functional abdominal pain, axial low back pain, or migraine with or without aura of at least 3 months duration.
  • English speaking
  • Ability and willingness to complete questionnaires and in-person assessments
  • Current average daily pain score of greater than or equal to 4 on the Numeric Rating Scale of Pain (0-10 scale)
  • For patients with migraine diagnosis they must report at least 2 headaches in the baseline headache diary in the 30 days preceding randomization.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Any conditions causing inability to complete assessments (education, cognitive ability, mental status, medical status)
  • Any significant psychiatric problems, including acute confusional state (delirium), ongoing psychosis, or clinically significant depression
  • Any suicidality as assessed by answer of greater than 0 on question 9 the PHQ-9 assessing suicidal thoughts.
  • Any current illicit drug or alcohol abuse.
  • Any history of recurrent or unprovoked seizures.
  • Participation in another drug, device, or biologics trial concurrently or within the preceding 30 days.
  • Pregnancy, breast-feeding or lack of reliable contraception
  • Changes in pain medications in the previous 4 weeks
  • Implanted electrical stimulation device.
  • Skin infection over stimulation sites.
  • Any pain interventions in the preceding 6 weeks (epidural steroid injection, sympathetic block, peripheral nerve block, lumbar medial branch blocks) Any botulinum toxin injection in the previous 3 months

  • For patients with migraine diagnosis additional exclusion criteria include receipt of preventive anti-migraine treatment in the past 3 months, failure on greater than or equal to 3 well-conducted preventive drug trials, concurrent medication overuse headache diagnosis, and concurrent frequent/chronic tension type headache.

    4. Frequent/chronic tension type headache

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Sham Comparator: Sham Stimulation
Device: Sham Stimulation
Low-frequency sham of VCR stimulation
Experimental: Vibrotactile Stimulation
Device: Vibrotactile Stimulation
Application of VCR stimulation to the belly and back of patients with pelvic pain, functional abdominal pain, or low back pain or to the temporal region for patients with migraine.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Treatment Responder
Time Frame: 30 days
Proportion of subjects in the treatment vs. placebo groups that are responders with greater than or equal to 50% reductions in average pain (in the primary pain area) comparing the average pain score from the 7-day baseline diary pre-treatment to the average scores based on 7-day diaries at the end of the primary outcome interval
30 days
Change in Opioid Use
Time Frame: 30 days
Change in opioid use in daily oral morphine equivalents from the average 7-day baseline use to the post-treatment use in the 7 days at the end of the primary outcome interval.
30 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Adverse Events
Time Frame: 60 days
The proportion of adverse events occurring in the treatment vs. placebo groups
60 days
Secondary Treatment Response After Crossover
Time Frame: 60 days
The proportion of subjects in the treatment vs. placebo groups that are responders at the end of 60 days comparing the average pain score from the 7- day baseline diary pre-treatment to the reported pain score at the end of the 60 day interval.
60 days
Change in monthly migraine days
Time Frame: 30 days
For patients with migraine, change in monthly migraine days between the 30 days before randomization and the end of the primary outcome interval.
30 days
Treatment Engagement
Time Frame: 30 days
Treatment engagement is defined as participation in >50% of home treatment sessions.
30 days
Treatment Initiation
Time Frame: 30 days
Treatment initiation is defined as participation in at least 1 home treatment session. session.
30 days

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Stanford University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Jennifer M Hah, MD, Stanford University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
September 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
August 23, 2019

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 23, 2019

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
August 28, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
April 24, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 21, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 52019

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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