Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation in Back Pain- Pilot Sudy

Effect of Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation in Chronic Low Back Pain: A Pilot Study

Chronic pain is a severe disabling problem within society, affecting 25-30% of the United States population.. Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) has the potential to provide a treatment option that is safe, scientifically-supported, low-cost, and easy-to-administer method to effectively reduce symptoms in patients suffering from chronic pain. The purpose of this study is to test the feasibility of using tACS to treat patients with chronic pain, and to collect pilot efficacy as well as EEG and EKG biomarker data for optimizing the design of subsequent large-scale studies. The treatment rationale is to renormalize the presumed pathological structure of alpha oscillations in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of patients with chronic pain.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Male or female, aged 18-65
• Diagnosed with nonspecific chronic low back pain by clinician
• BMI is less than 30
• Suffered from chronic pain for > 6 months
• Self-report pain measures >4
• Meets criteria for low depression and suicide risk as defined by the Hamilton-Depression Rating Scale
• Capacity to understand all relevant risks and potential benefits of the study (informed consent)
• Not currently taking opioids, benzodiazepines, and anticonvulsant medications

Exclusion Criteria:

• Radicular Pain
• Traumatic brain injury, Any brain devices/implants, including cochlear implants and aneurysm clips
• History of major neurological or psychiatric illness, including epilepsy
• (For females) Pregnancy or breast feeding
• Diagnosis of eating disorder (current or within the past 6 months), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (lifetime), or Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (currently under treatment)