Using wearable activity monitors to improve chronic low back pain care
Official title: Actigraphy Enhanced Clinical Chronic Lower Back Pain Management
Funded at Arbor Medical Innovations, LLC · NIH-11181565 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses wearable activity trackers to give doctors continuous information about how chronic low back pain affects daily movement for adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Arbor Medical Innovations, LLC NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Ypsilanti, United States) |
| Project start | September 15, 2021 |
| Project end | July 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $1,322,811 |
| NIH project number | 5U44NS122002-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11181565 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults (21 years and older) with chronic low back pain who can wear a small activity tracker and attend clinic visits are the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People with only short-term (acute) back pain, those under 21, or individuals who cannot wear or reliably use a wearable device may not benefit from this program.
What this research studies
If you take part, you'll wear a small motion sensor similar to a fitness tracker that records your daily activity and movement patterns. The team is building a simple, low-burden system so devices require minimal charging, pairing, or app setup and the data are standardized for clinic use. Your activity data will be combined with clinic visits to show how pain and function change over time, helping clinicians spot important changes that might be missed by questionnaires. The goal is to make these objective activity reports easy for doctors to use when making treatment decisions.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could give patients more personalized care by showing objective changes in activity that guide treatment choices.
How similar studies have gone: Researchers have used actigraphy successfully in studies to measure pain-related function, but making a low-burden, clinic-ready system for routine care is a newer approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Arbor Medical Innovations, LLC
Ypsilanti, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Kruger, Grant H — Arbor Medical Innovations, LLC
- Study coordinator: Kruger, Grant H
Related research
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.