LB3P: Low Back Pain Research Study

Study Overview

The LB³P: Low Back Pain Research Study is a Mechanistic Research Center funded through a U19 award from the National Institutes of Health's HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Long-Term) Initiative, a strategic effort to combat the opioid epidemic in the United States. The LB³P Center is a member of the BACPAC (Back Pain Consortium), 13 research sites, which will work together to develop an integrated model of chronic low back pain to guide the future study and treatment of this condition. This study is conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Departments of Physical Therapy, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Psychiatry, and Orthopaedic Surgery. 

The LB³P Center is an innovative, multidisciplinary collaboration of investigators at UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh. The Center will collect data from three key contributing domains of chronic low back pain: biological, biomechanical, and behavioral. The data will be analyzed to perform in-depth phenotyping of patients with chronic low back pain with the goal of characterizing patients and directing targeted treatments. This is a novel, integrated biopsychosocial approach to combat such a complex and multi-dimensional condition.

UPMC Press Release on the grant.

Over the next four years, the LB³P hopes to recruit 1,000 study participants to help with the collection of biological, biomechanical, and behavioral data. Participants will be asked to answer questionnaires, perform functional assessments, and submit to collecting biological samples. Testing and collection will take place at the Physical Therapy - Clinical and Translational Research Center at the University of Pittsburgh. The PT-CTRC is a state-of-the-art facility that will serve as the hub for study participation. Interested persons must be over age 18, experiencing ongoing low back pain for more than 3 months in the last 6 months. Individuals chosen to participate will be compensated for their time.

Principal Investigators

Gwendolyn Sowa, MD, PhD, Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

Nam Vo, PhD, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery

Core Leadership

Sara Piva, PhD, PT, Department of Physical Therapy

Anthony Delitto, PhD, PT, FAPTA, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

Carol Greco, PhD, Department of Psychiatry

Michael Schneider, DC, PhD, Department of Physical Therapy

Kevin Bell, PhD, Department of Bioengineering

William Anderst, PhD, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery

Charity Patterson, PhD, MSPH, Department of Physical Therapy

Gina McKernan, PhD, Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

Study Staff

Selena Crawford, Project Manager

Jessa Darwin, Communications Manager

Marit E. Johnson, PhD, Biomechanics Core Project Manager

Corey Flynn, Clinical Core Research Project Coordinator

Lisa Bemis, Biodynamics Lab Manager

Participant Information

Interested participants must be 18 years of age and older, and have experienced low back pain for more than 3 months in the last 6 months. Visit our patient portal for more information about the study and to see if you qualify for participation.

Visit the study's page on the Pitt+Me registry to see if you're eligible to participate.

Publications

Poster presentation at Orthopaedic Research Society's 2022 meeting, "Asymmetrical Lumbar Intervertebral Motion in Chronic Low Back Pain" by Dr. Marit Johnson