Wake Research and EmergeOrtho Teaming Up For Back Pain Studies

Back pain is an extremely common affliction, touching many people every day. It affects mostly adults, but back pain can occur at any age.

Orthopedic research studies have found that 10 to 15 percent of adults will experience prevalent back pain in their lives,[1] and across the world, back pain is the number one cause of disability, causing adults to miss work and being unable to engage in daily life activities[2].

EmergeOrtho and Wake Research in Raleigh, N.C. are partnering as Emerging Medical Research to conduct clinical research studies for individuals affected by spinal-related back pain.

Back pain can have many causes.  Most back pain is due to an injury to a ligament, muscle, disk or joint in the back. However, injuries or issues of the spine can also cause back pain.

Spinal-related back pain can be caused by an injury to the spine or by spinal disease. The spine is made up of 26 bone disks called vertebrae. A common spinal condition is herniated disks, which are caused by age-related bone changes. Spinal diseases can also cause bone changes in the spine, which can put pressure on the spinal cord and nerves, limiting movement and causing pain.

To address spinal issues resulting in back pain, there are surgical and non-surgical options. Surgical options might include surgery to repair the disk, or a spinal device such as an artificial disk or artificial cervical spine replacement. Whereas non-surgical options might include physical therapy, drug therapy, or wearing back braces.

There is a lot of research being done on the best way to treat spinal-related back pain and other forms of back pain. Emerging Medical Research is currently conducting clinical trials that are investigating spinal conditions, back pain, and treatments for both, including:

If you or a loved one are affected by any of these back and spinal conditions, learn more about our studies at https://emergeortho.com/for-patients/clinical-trials-research/ or sign up to receive info at https://www.wakeclinical.com/join-a-clinical-trial/

[1] Sinnott, P. L., Dally, S. K., Trafton, J., Goulet, J. L., & Wagner, T. H. (2017). Trends in diagnosis of painful neck and back conditions, 2002 to 2011. Medicine, 96(20), e6691. https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000006691. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5440123/

[2] Hoy D, March L, Brooks P, et al. The global burden of low back pain: estimates from the Global Burden of Disease 2010 study Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases Published Online First: 24 March 2014. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2013-204428