Christine Goertz, PhD, and Trevor Lentz, PT, PhD, MPH, received a notice of award for their Feasibility Trial of a Novel Integrated Mindfulness and Acupuncture Program to Improve Outcomes after Spine Surgery (I-MASS) project.
This three-year trial planning grant will test the feasibility of an integrated app-based mindfulness and acupuncture program to reduce pain and opioid use after spine surgery. The project is an excellent collaboration across multiple ortho divisions and departments within the School of Medicine and with Pattern Health, a software company in Durham.
Lentz shared, "Our team created this project to study ways to improve pain management and decrease reliance on opioids following spine surgery. We focused on combining two types of evidence-supported, non-pharmacologic treatments – acupuncture and mindfulness delivered via mobile app – into an integrated program that patients will access before and after surgery. The project brings together a multidisciplinary group of researchers across various Departments and Divisions at Duke with experience studying mindfulness and acupuncture to improve outcomes in other populations. We have also partnered with Pattern Health, a digital solutions provider at the intersection of technology, behavioral science, and health, to design a population-specific mindfulness app and data collection platform for the project."
Goertz continued, "This three-year study will tell us whether the integrated mindfulness and acupuncture intervention is feasible and acceptable to patients and healthcare providers. Patients with lower back pain are at higher risk for opioid misuse and addiction, which can be exacerbated by opioid orders immediately following spine surgery. We hope to develop and then rigorously evaluate a synergistic approach to managing pain following spine surgery that decreases pain, minimizes the need for post-surgical opioid use, and is easy for patients to access. Ultimately, this work will provide patients and healthcare providers with a safe and effective option for addressing pain and improving outcomes after spine surgery."