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CompletedNCT04882748ADAMOUpdated Oct 25, 2021

Using a Robot to Treat Non-specific Low Back Pain

An interventional study of ADAMO in Non-specific Low Back Pain, sponsored by Fundacion Rioja Salud. Completed at 1 site in Spain. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 60 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2021-10-25.

Sponsored by Fundacion Rioja Salud · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 7 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Sep 2020, registered Apr 2021).
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
44
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 60 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Non-specific low back pain (NSLBP) is a musculoskeletal syndrome whose main characteristic is the pain, which is focalized in the lumbar area of the spine, which cannot be attributed to a known cause (traumatism, systemic diseases, nerve root compression, etc). The treatment includes massage and rehabilitation techniques. Here the investigators want to test whether a robot (ADAMO) may help in improving current physiotherapy exercises in reducing back pain. NSLBP patients will be randomly assigned to two arms (robot versus control) and they will receive 10 massage sessions. Pain evaluation will be performed with the visual analogue scale (VAS) and the Oswestry disability index (ODI). The ODI will be performed by an independent physician blind to the treatment.

Read the detailed description

Low back pain is defined as a musculoskeletal syndrome, or group of symptoms, whose main characteristic is the pain, which is focalized in the lumbar area of the spine. The diagnosis is rather easy since symptoms are very evident. When this pain cannot be attributed to a known cause (traumatism, systemic diseases, nerve root compression, etc), it is called non-specific low back pain (NSLBP), which may represent 90-95% of all cases of back pain.

The treatment for this pathology has been collected in several clinical practice guidelines, with little differences among them. All of them recommend: i) maintaining physical activity as far as the pain allows; ii) pharmacological treatment (analgesics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxants); and iii) non-pharmacological measures (local heat, cognitive-behavior therapy, spinal manipulation, rehabilitation programs). Rehabilitation therapy, including different exercises, such as extensions, back workshops, and aquatic exercises, among others, provides excellent results in managing chronic back pain. In addition, physiotherapeutic massage constitutes the most common practice to treat back pain and is very effective in the short term, although it may not address the underlying causes.

The main problem in reporting and measuring physiotherapeutic massage practices is that the massage is applied by different therapists, with different strength and intensity, which may vary from session to session. The use of massaging robotic devices should solve all these problems and several prototypes are already available.

In this study, the efficiency of the new ADAMO robot system (https://adamorobot.com/) will be tested. ADAMO bases its operation on a computer program that controls the manipulator robot, which, and by means of cameras installed at its end, must find in each session the points of treatment in the patient previously defined by the health professional and apply the air at the necessary pressure. This pressure is generated by means of a compressed air nozzle integrated in a handpiece installed at the end of the robot.

Forty-four patients suffering from NSLBP will be recruited after signing the informed consent and randomly assigned to one of two experimental arms: robot or control for 10 sessions. Pain evaluation will be performed with the Oswestry disability index (ODI), which will be applied before starting and at the end of the treatment, and the visual analogue scale (VAS) which will be applied after each session. The ODI will be performed by an independent physician blind to the treatment. Statistical analysis will be performed to compare both treatments.

02

Conditions studied

  • Non-specific Low Back Pain

Keywords

  • back pain
  • massage
  • robot
03

In context

Back Pain

2,373 studies on the registry are indexed under Back Pain; 284 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 44 is below the median of 60 across 1,941 interventional studies indexed under Back Pain.

Browse Back Pain studies →

Lead sponsor

Fundacion Rioja Salud is the lead sponsor of 2 studies on the registry; none are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 60 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Patients suffering non-specific low back pain

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Age \<18 or >60 years Pregnant women Impossibility to stay in a prone position Serious systemic pathologies Patients with treatments that may interfere with the study
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Single (Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
44 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    Control

    In the control arm, patients were laid down on the robot platform. Physiotherapists identified the trigger points and the robot was connected, providing the expected noise and vibration, but the air pressure was not applied. Thermotherapy and rehabilitation exercises were provided, as is the standard treatment for NSLBP at the Rehabilitation Service.

    Other: ADAMO

  • Experimental
    Robot massage

    In the robot arm, a physiotherapist with more than 15 years of experience identified the trigger points in the patient, programmed the robot, and applied robot-controlled air pressure massage for 10 minutes. The ADAMO robot applies an air current to the trigger points on the back of the patient, guided by cameras and computer programs (https://adamorobot.com/). Thermotherapy and rehabilitation exercises were also applied.

    Other: ADAMO

Interventions

  • OtherADAMO

    Physical therapy provided with or without the help of a robot

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Patient disability as tested by the Oswestry disability index (ODI).

    The ODI will be recorded before starting and at the end of the treatment. The Oswestry disability index (ODI) is a questionnaire which gives a subjective percentage score of level of function (disability) in activities of daily living in those rehabilitating from low back pain. Possible scores go from 0 to 50, being 0 no pain and 50 the highest possible pain.

    Time frame: Through study completion. An average of 6 months.

  2. Perceived pain as tested by the visual analogue scale (VAS).

    The VAS will be recorded after every session. The visual analogue scale (VAS) is a unidimensional measure of pain intensity. The patient is presented with a horizontal line of face pictograms. The patient marks on the line the point that they feel represents their perception of their current state, which may rank from 0 (best, no pain) to 10 (worst pain).

    Time frame: Through study completion. An average of 6 months.

07

Study locations

1 site
  • CIBIR
    Logroño, La Rioja 26006, Spain
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Marin-Mendez H, Marin-Novoa P, Jimenez-Marin S, Isidoro-Garijo I, Ramos-Martinez M, Bobadilla M, Mirpuri E, Martinez A. Using a Robot to Treat Non-specific Low Back Pain: Results From a Two-Arm, Single-Blinded, Randomized Controlled Trial. Front Neurorobot. 2021 Sep 14;15:715632. doi: 10.3389/fnbot.2021.715632. eCollection 2021. PubMed 34594197 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Yes — All results from the study will be published in a specialized journal, including the study protocol, statistical Analysis, informed consent form, and a table with all raw data.

Supporting information: Study protocol, Sap, Icf

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Oct 25, 2021, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04882748
Lead sponsor
Fundacion Rioja Salud
Collaborators
Hospital San Pedro de Logroño
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
May 12, 2021
Start date
Sep 1, 2020
Primary completion
May 20, 2021
Completion
May 25, 2021
Last update
Oct 25, 2021

Study contacts

Eduardo Mirpuri, PhD
study director · CIBIR

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Oct 2021. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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