An observational study in Low Back Pain and Amputation, sponsored by Ukrainian Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Therapy. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in Ukraine. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 50 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-06-04.
Sponsored by Ukrainian Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Therapy · Observational
Patients with combat-related lower limb amputations frequently experience chronic low back pain during long-term rehabilitation and prosthetic use. Altered biomechanics, asymmetric loading, gait disturbances, and changes in spinal alignment after limb loss may contribute to the development of persistent back pain. The severity and characteristics of low back pain may vary according to the level of amputation.
The LEVEL-BACK Study is a prospective observational study designed to evaluate the relationship between amputation level and chronic low back pain after combat-related amputation.
Participants with different levels of lower limb amputation will undergo clinical assessment of low back pain intensity, functional limitations, prosthesis use, and rehabilitation outcomes during follow-up.
The goal of the study is to improve understanding of how amputation level influences chronic low back pain after combat-related limb loss and to identify patients at increased risk for persistent spinal pain during rehabilitation.
Chronic low back pain is a common long-term complication following lower limb amputation and may significantly impair mobility, rehabilitation, prosthesis tolerance, and quality of life. Patients with combat-related amputations are particularly vulnerable because of severe tissue trauma, altered gait mechanics, asymmetric loading, repeated surgical interventions, and prolonged rehabilitation.
Biomechanical alterations after amputation may lead to abnormal spinal loading, pelvic asymmetry, trunk compensation, and increased energy expenditure during ambulation. These changes may contribute to chronic mechanical stress on the lumbar spine and development of persistent low back pain. The level of amputation may play an important role in this process, as more proximal amputations are frequently associated with greater gait disturbance, increased compensatory trunk movements, and higher biomechanical demand during prosthetic walking.
Despite increasing recognition of chronic low back pain after amputation, limited prospective data are available regarding the relationship between amputation level and spinal pain severity in combat-related trauma populations.
The LEVEL-BACK Study is a prospective observational study designed to evaluate the association between lower limb amputation level and chronic low back pain after combat-related amputation.
Participants with transtibial, transfemoral, and bilateral lower limb amputations will undergo longitudinal clinical assessment during rehabilitation follow-up. Study evaluations will include assessment of low back pain intensity, duration of symptoms, prosthesis use, functional mobility, rehabilitation outcomes, and pain-related disability.
The study aims to improve understanding of spinal pain mechanisms after combat-related limb loss and identify patient groups at increased risk for chronic low back pain according to amputation level.
2,922 studies on the registry are indexed under Low Back Pain; 580 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 300 is above the median of 100 across 481 observational studies indexed under Low Back Pain.
Browse Low Back Pain studies →Ukrainian Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Therapy is the lead sponsor of 15 studies on the registry; 9 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Participants will include adult patients with combat-related lower limb amputations undergoing rehabilitation and prosthetic recovery. The study population will consist of individuals with unilateral transtibial amputation, unilateral transfemoral amputation, or bilateral lower limb amputation. Participants will be recruited from military rehabilitation and trauma centers specializing in post-amputation care. The study aims to evaluate the relationship between amputation level and chronic low back pain during long-term rehabilitation and prosthesis use.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.
Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Cancer (malignancy)
Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.
Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Participants with unilateral transtibial (below-knee) combat-related lower limb amputation.
Participants with unilateral transfemoral (above-knee) combat-related lower limb amputation
Participants with bilateral combat-related lower limb amputation.
Change in chronic low back pain intensity
Assessment of change in low back pain intensity using the Numeric Rating Scale, where 0 indicates no pain and 10 indicates the worst imaginable pain.
Time frame: Baseline to 12 months
Low Back Pain Disability Assessed Using the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI)
Low back pain-related disability will be assessed using the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), a validated questionnaire designed to evaluate functional impairment associated with low back pain. The ODI consists of 10 sections covering pain intensity and activities of daily living. Total scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater disability and worse functional status. Scale Information: Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) Minimum Value: 0 Maximum Value: 100 Interpretation: Higher scores indicate greater low back pain-related disability and worse functional outcomes.
Time frame: Baseline, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after amputation.
Low Back Pain Disability Assessed Using the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ)
Low back pain-related disability will be assessed using the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ), a validated 24-item patient-reported outcome measure designed to evaluate functional limitations associated with low back pain. Participants indicate whether each statement applies to them on the day of assessment. Total scores range from 0 to 24, with higher scores indicating greater disability and worse functional status. Scale Information: Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) Minimum Value: 0 Maximum Value: 24 Interpretation: Higher scores indicate greater disability related to low back pain and worse functional outcomes.
Time frame: Baseline, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after amputation.
Plan to share: Yes — De-identified individual participant data including demographic characteristics, amputation level, low back pain intensity scores, functional mobility assessments, prosthesis use data, rehabilitation outcomes, analgesic consumption, and follow-up clinical evaluations collected during the study will be available for sharing. The study protocol, statistical analysis plan, and analytic code may also be shared upon reasonable request.
Supporting information: Study protocol
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Start is estimated for Sep 2026; primary completion for Sep 2026, 0 months later.
Of 175 non-industry observational studies under Low Back Pain, half reached primary completion within 24 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 10 and three quarters within 48. This study's planned 0 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 185 studies reached it within 24 months; a quarter within 10 and three quarters within 48.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in May 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Ukrainian Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Therapy