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Condition (MeSH)

Low Back Pain

ClinicalTrials.gov lists 2,353 trials for Low Back Pain or a narrower condition beneath it. VA Office of Research and Development has the most among industry and government lead sponsors, with 15.

MeSH D017116 Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms C23
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Phase 1 Phase 1 45 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 21 Phase 2 Phase 2 74 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 15 Phase 3 Phase 3 119 Phase 4 Phase 4 101 Not applicable Not applicable 1,568 Observational Observational 409 Phase 1 Phase 1 45 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 21 Phase 2 Phase 2 74 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 15 Phase 3 Phase 3 119 Phase 4 Phase 4 101 Not applicable Not applicable 1,568 Observational Observational 409

Trials per phase (log scale)

1 more section with rows

2,353 of the 2,353 trials are tagged with Low Back Pain itself; the rest are tagged with a narrower condition beneath it.

Get the Low 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 Low 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: 213

1994: 1 trials (Not applicable 1) 1997: 2 trials (Observational 1, Phase 3 1) 1998: 2 trials (Observational 1, Not applicable 1) 1999: 2 trials (Observational 1, Phase 3 1) 2000: 8 trials (Not applicable 1, Phase 4 3, Phase 3 3, Phase 1 1) 2001: 7 trials (Not applicable 1, Phase 3 3, Phase 2 3) 2002: 7 trials (Not applicable 2, Phase 4 3, Phase 3 1, Phase 2 1) 2003: 14 trials (Not applicable 4, Phase 4 3, Phase 3 3, Phase 2 2, Phase 1 2) 2004: 20 trials (Not applicable 6, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 8, Phase 1 1) 2005: 19 trials (Observational 2, Not applicable 7, Phase 4 3, Phase 3 4, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 1, Phase 1 1) 2006: 41 trials (Observational 2, Not applicable 20, Phase 4 6, Phase 3 6, Phase 2 3, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 3) 2007: 41 trials (Observational 2, Not applicable 14, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 10, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 5, Phase 1 5) 2008: 42 trials (Observational 6, Not applicable 17, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 9, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 1, Phase 1 2) 2009: 64 trials (Observational 13, Not applicable 26, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 7, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 9, Phase 1/2 3) 2010: 46 trials (Observational 8, Not applicable 22, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 4, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 4, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 2) 2011: 71 trials (Observational 16, Not applicable 32, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 8, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 6, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 1) 2012: 72 trials (Observational 12, Not applicable 38, Phase 4 3, Phase 3 12, Phase 2 5, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 1) 2013: 77 trials (Observational 9, Not applicable 47, Phase 4 6, Phase 3 5, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 4, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 2) 2014: 73 trials (Observational 16, Not applicable 52, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 2, Phase 1 2) 2015: 86 trials (Observational 13, Not applicable 52, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 8, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 1, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 3) 2016: 89 trials (Observational 11, Not applicable 59, Phase 4 7, Phase 3 4, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 3, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 3) 2017: 102 trials (Observational 18, Not applicable 72, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 2, Phase 2 4, Phase 1 2) 2018: 115 trials (Observational 25, Not applicable 76, Phase 4 3, Phase 3 3, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 2, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 2) 2019: 144 trials (Observational 30, Not applicable 99, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 1, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 3, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 2) 2020: 106 trials (Observational 21, Not applicable 78, Phase 4 3, Phase 3 1, Phase 2 1, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 1) 2021: 176 trials (Observational 29, Not applicable 130, Phase 4 8, Phase 3 3, Phase 2 4, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 1) 2022: 196 trials (Observational 47, Not applicable 144, Phase 4 3, Phase 2 2) 2023: 189 trials (Observational 41, Not applicable 141, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 2, Phase 1 1) 2024: 170 trials (Observational 28, Not applicable 132, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 1, Phase 2 5, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 1) 2025: 213 trials (Observational 34, Not applicable 173, Phase 3 3, Phase 2 1, Phase 1 2)

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) 147
2025 213
2024 170
2023 189
2022 196
2021 176
2020 106
2019 144
2018 115
2017 102

Forecast of the full-year count, planned starts included, not rows of this table: about 190 trials starting in 2026 and about 200 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 28 months from start to primary completion across 173 trials still running at the 2026-10-09 snapshot; registered median of 13 months across 1,533 trials with a primary completion typed Actual. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov / AACT (CTTI), public domain.

What phase are Low 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 45
Phase 1/2 21
Phase 2 74
Phase 2/3 15
Phase 3 119
Phase 4 101
Not applicable 1,568
Observational 409
Expanded access 1

How many Low Back Pain trials are recruiting? (10)

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 120
Recruiting 193
Enrolling by invitation 29
Active, not recruiting 49
Completed 1,423

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

Which lead sponsors run the most Low Back Pain trials? (1)

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
VA Office of Research and Development 15

Which drugs are being tested for Low Back Pain? (1)

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 7

Interventions as named in the registry (14)

Shown in this order: most trials first.

Interventions as named in the registry
Drug Trials
Exercise 35
Control (placebo) group 23
Acupuncture 18
Physiotherapy 15
Conventional Treatment 10

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 Low 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 49 2
Other surgical/medical procedure 26 1
Back Surgery 23 1
Osteoarthritis 22 8

Which publications cover Low Back Pain? (3,914)

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

Not on this page

Not measured: delivery record.

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

Browse all condition evidence pages