Botulinum Toxin A for the Treatment of Chronic Lumbar Back Pain

Summary

This study will assess the efficacy and the duration of efficacy of Botulinum toxin A (Botox®) injected into the lumbar paraspinal muscles for reducing pain and disability in subjects suffering from chronic low back pain of six months duration or longer and arising from an identifiable muscle strain injury or back trauma. The treatment modality and techniques used are based on a successful prior 4 month open-labeled pilot study done by this research group, but will employ a prospective double-blind, randomized, cross-over design to control for any placebo or mechanical trigger-point injection effects. Subjects will also be assessed for a longer duration to better define the duration of efficacy.

Timeline

Start

2007-03

Primary completion

2011-02

Completion

2011-02

Publications

• Background Pope MH, Frymoyer JW, Krag MH. Diagnosing instability. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 1992 Jun;(279):60-7.
• Background Wipf JE, Deyo RA. Low back pain. Med Clin North Am. 1995 Mar;79(2):231-46. doi: 10.1016/s0025-7125(16)30065-7.
• Background Cherkin DC, Sherman KJ, Deyo RA, Shekelle PG. A review of the evidence for the effectiveness, safety, and cost of acupuncture, massage therapy, and spinal manipulation for back pain. Ann Intern Med. 2003 Jun 3;138(11):898-906. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-138-11-200306030-00011.
• Background Grazko MA, Polo KB, Jabbari B. Botulinum toxin A for spasticity, muscle spasms, and rigidity. Neurology. 1995 Apr;45(4):712-7. doi: 10.1212/wnl.45.4.712.
• Background Aoki KR. Pharmacology and immunology of botulinum toxin serotypes. J Neurol. 2001 Apr;248 Suppl 1:3-10. doi: 10.1007/pl00007816.

Drugs

Indications