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Condition (MeSH)

Back Pain

ClinicalTrials.gov lists 2,948 trials for Back Pain or a narrower condition beneath it. Boston Scientific Corporation has the most among industry and government lead sponsors, with 22.

MeSH D001416 Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms C23
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Phase 1 Phase 1 65 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 30 Phase 2 Phase 2 93 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 19 Phase 3 Phase 3 154 Phase 4 Phase 4 138 Not applicable Not applicable 1,925 Observational Observational 522 Phase 1 Phase 1 65 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 30 Phase 2 Phase 2 93 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 19 Phase 3 Phase 3 154 Phase 4 Phase 4 138 Not applicable Not applicable 1,925 Observational Observational 522

Trials per phase (log scale)

1 more section with rows

698 of the 2,948 trials are tagged with Back Pain itself; the rest are tagged with a narrower condition beneath it.

Get the Back Pain report as a PDF

The PDF carries up to 50 rows of each section, where the page shows the first few, with the sources listed. Enter a work email and confirm it from the message we send, and the report follows by email.

When did Back Pain trials start? (31)

Shown in this order: most recent first, 1990 onwards. 2026 is partial: trials registered with a 2026 start date so far, not a full year. 4 trials are registered to start in 2027 or later, and not listed here.

Trials over time, by phase

  • Phase 1
  • Phase 1/2
  • Phase 2
  • Phase 2/3
  • Phase 3
  • Phase 4
  • Not applicable
  • Observational

Top of scale: 239

1994: 1 trials (Not applicable 1) 1997: 4 trials (Observational 1, Phase 3 3) 1998: 2 trials (Observational 1, Not applicable 1) 1999: 4 trials (Observational 1, Phase 3 2, Phase 2 1) 2000: 10 trials (Not applicable 2, Phase 4 3, Phase 3 3, Phase 1 2) 2001: 7 trials (Not applicable 1, Phase 3 3, Phase 2 3) 2002: 8 trials (Observational 1, Not applicable 2, Phase 4 3, Phase 3 1, Phase 2 1) 2003: 18 trials (Observational 1, Not applicable 4, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 5, Phase 2 2, Phase 1 2) 2004: 30 trials (Not applicable 12, Phase 4 6, Phase 3 8, Phase 2 1, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 2) 2005: 23 trials (Observational 3, Not applicable 8, Phase 4 3, Phase 3 4, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 2, Phase 1 2) 2006: 63 trials (Observational 3, Not applicable 30, Phase 4 11, Phase 3 11, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 3, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 3) 2007: 54 trials (Observational 5, Not applicable 17, Phase 4 7, Phase 3 13, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 6, Phase 1 5) 2008: 54 trials (Observational 8, Not applicable 22, Phase 4 7, Phase 3 10, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 3, Phase 1 2) 2009: 79 trials (Observational 16, Not applicable 29, Phase 4 7, Phase 3 8, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 12, Phase 1/2 5, Phase 1 1) 2010: 57 trials (Observational 8, Not applicable 25, Phase 4 6, Phase 3 9, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 5, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 2) 2011: 81 trials (Observational 21, Not applicable 34, Phase 4 7, Phase 3 8, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 6, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 2) 2012: 92 trials (Observational 13, Not applicable 53, Phase 4 6, Phase 3 12, Phase 2 6, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 1) 2013: 103 trials (Observational 15, Not applicable 63, Phase 4 7, Phase 3 8, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 4, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 2) 2014: 97 trials (Observational 22, Not applicable 67, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 2, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 3) 2015: 112 trials (Observational 18, Not applicable 73, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 8, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 1, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 3) 2016: 113 trials (Observational 18, Not applicable 74, Phase 4 7, Phase 3 6, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 3, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 3) 2017: 133 trials (Observational 21, Not applicable 95, Phase 4 6, Phase 3 3, Phase 2 6, Phase 1 2) 2018: 150 trials (Observational 35, Not applicable 100, Phase 4 3, Phase 3 3, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 2, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 2) 2019: 175 trials (Observational 34, Not applicable 121, Phase 4 7, Phase 3 2, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 4, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 3) 2020: 148 trials (Observational 30, Not applicable 103, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 2, Phase 2 2, Phase 1/2 4, Phase 1 3) 2021: 219 trials (Observational 39, Not applicable 155, Phase 4 10, Phase 3 5, Phase 2 5, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 3) 2022: 238 trials (Observational 57, Not applicable 169, Phase 4 6, Phase 2 5, Phase 1 1) 2023: 233 trials (Observational 52, Not applicable 169, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 3, Phase 1 4) 2024: 218 trials (Observational 38, Not applicable 163, Phase 4 3, Phase 3 3, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 5, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 4) 2025: 239 trials (Observational 37, Not applicable 193, Phase 3 4, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 1, Phase 1 3)

Trials registered with a start date in each year, 1990 onward, stacked by phase (complete years only; the current partial year is in the table's notes). The table below lists the same counts, most recent years first.

Trials started per year
Year Trials started
2026 (partial year) 169
2025 239
2024 218
2023 233
2022 238
2021 219
2020 148
2019 175
2018 150
2017 133

Forecast of the full-year count, planned starts included, not rows of this table: about 210 trials starting in 2026 and about 220 in 2027, the average of the 24 months through September, counted as registered and carried forward. The rows of this table count trials registered so far with a start date in the year, planned starts included; the forecast looks ahead to the count for the whole year, so it is not the same measure. In backtests on conditions of this size, forecasts made part-way through the year were typically off by about 13 percent and ran about 12 percent low against the count later registered; forecasts made before the year began were off by about 19 percent and ran about 17 percent low against the count later registered, and had about the same error as repeating last year's count. These figures rest on a few years of history (target years from 2018 to 2025, varying by figure), place each condition as it is mapped today rather than as it was then, and score against a count for the newest year that was still being revised. Only condition series were scored.

Prediction, not a registry value: median of 29 months from start to primary completion across 213 trials still running at the 2026-10-09 snapshot; registered median of 13 months across 1,938 trials with a primary completion typed Actual. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov / AACT (CTTI), public domain.

What phase are Back Pain trials in? (9)

Shown in this order: phase order.

Show the trials by phase as a table
Trials by phase
Phase Trials
Phase 1 65
Phase 1/2 30
Phase 2 93
Phase 2/3 19
Phase 3 154
Phase 4 138
Not applicable 1,925
Observational 522
Expanded access 2

How many Back Pain trials are recruiting? (11)

Shown in this order: the order a trial moves through, from not yet recruiting to unknown.

Trials by recruitment status
Status Trials
Not yet recruiting 134
Recruiting 233
Enrolling by invitation 37
Active, not recruiting 65
Completed 1,798

Status as registered on ClinicalTrials.gov. Each trial is counted once.

Which lead sponsors run the most Back Pain trials? (2)

Shown in this order: most trials first. Lead sponsors the registry classes as industry, NIH, US federal, other government or network. A hospital or university the registry files as government can appear here. Sponsors it classes as academic or other are shown on the full page, because that class cannot separate an institution from a named investigator.

Lead sponsors
Sponsor Trials
Boston Scientific Corporation 22
VA Office of Research and Development 21

Which drugs are being tested for Back Pain? (2)

Shown in this order: most trials first. One row per drug, matched to a single molecule under all its names, ranked by number of trials.

Drugs tested
Drug Trials
Oxycodone 10
Duloxetine 9

Interventions as named in the registry (13)

Shown in this order: most trials first.

Interventions as named in the registry
Drug Trials
Exercise 40
Control (placebo) group 27
Acupuncture 21
Physiotherapy 18
Conventional Treatment 12

These are the names sponsors entered on ClinicalTrials.gov that we have not matched to a single molecule. Some are drugs under a brand or code name; others are procedures, doses or arm labels.

Which serious adverse events do Back Pain trials report? (10)

Shown in this order: most subjects affected first. Subjects affected summed across trials, a cross-trial signal, not a rate.

Serious adverse events in this condition's trials
Adverse event Subjects affected Trials
Emergency Department visit within 90 days of index imaging 26,174 1
Hospitalization 308 4
Postdural puncture backache 133 1
Back pain 105 9
Fall 92 9

Which publications cover Back Pain? (967)

Shown in this order: major-topic papers first, then newest, then most linked to trials.

Sub-conditions in MeSH (2)

MeSH descendants one level down with at least one trial, most trials first.

Not on this page

Not measured: delivery record.

Checked, with nothing recorded for this condition: prevalence and rare-disease identity.

Browse all condition evidence pages