Adam Goode, PT, DPT, PhD, is the principal investigator on a $3.3 million Competitive Renewal (RO1) Grant funded by the National Institutes of Health.
The five-year project, Biomarkers to Advance Clinical Phenotypes of Low Back Pain (BACk), aims to identify a risk phenotype of biological, psychological, and social factors for up to 480 patients in the community with acute low back pain. The risk phenotype will be then used to predict the transition from sensitive acute to chronic low back pain.
Recruitment for the study will take place in Durham and Kannapolis, NC, in collaboration with the Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), which has a research site on the North Carolina Research Campus.
This study builds on a previous funded by NIH/NIAMS in 2017, a secondary data analysis exploring spine-related changes that led to chronic lower back pain. The study concluded on Aug. 31, 2023.
“Throughout the previous study, we became interested in learning more about how people transitioned from having an acute episode of low back pain to chronic low back pain,” said Dr. Goode.
Along with examining the factors that lead to chronic lower back pain, BACk will determine the role of inflammation and whether regulating inflammation in the acute phase can prevent the transition to chronic pain. Low back pain (LBP) has the highest prevalence globally among musculoskeletal conditions and is the leading cause of disability worldwide.
The team includes:
Michael Brown, PhD; assistant professor of neurosurgery
Steven George, PT, PhD; Laszlo Ormandy Distinguished Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery. Dr. Geroge directs the Musculoskeletal Research within the Duke Clinical Research Institute and serves as vice-chair of Clinical Research for the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.
Flavia Kapos, DDS, MS, PhD; assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery, professor of biostatistics and bioinformatics
Virginia Kraus, MD, PhD; Mary Bernheim Distinguished Professor of Medicine, professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and professor of Pathology
Svati Shah, MD, MHS, Ursula Geller Distinguished Professor of Research in Cardiovascular Diseases