Intervention for chronic low back pain

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) remains one of the leading causes of disability worldwide.

In Australia, it is the most common chronic condition among people aged 45 to 64, affecting almost four million people.

Current treatments show only small to moderate effects and these are usually short-lived.

A new treatment – graded sensorimotor retraining (the RESOLVE program), a staged program of pain science education, sensory training, movement imagery and graded functional movement – demonstrated sustained improvements in pain and disability compared with a sham control for adults with CLBP in a recent single-site randomised controlled trial (the RESOLVE trial).

RESOLVE-D, a three-arm randomised controlled trial led by researchers at NeuRA (Neuroscience Research Australia), will now test this approach in a larger, pragmatic, multi-site setting.

With ethics approval secured in January 2026, the trial is opening across physiotherapy clinics nationally.

Aims

RESOLVE-D will compare guideline care plus the RESOLVE program against guideline care plus supervised exercise and guideline care alone in 513 participants with CLBP nationally.

Co-primary outcomes are disability and pain intensity at 12 weeks, alongside secondary outcomes including quality of life, healthcare use and costeffectiveness.

The findings are intended to directly inform future clinical practice and guideline development for one of the most common and costly conditions physiotherapists see.

What’s involved

We are recruiting Ahpra-registered physiotherapists to deliver the trial interventions.

We are looking for experienced clinicians (at least two years’ experience) who are confident in treating CLBP, with access to a suitable space for delivering the RESOLVE program or supervised exercise.

Clinicians are recruited into one of two groups: the intervention group, delivering the RESOLVE program (six to 10 sessions); or the control group, delivering supervised exercise and guideline care (up to eight sessions).

A background in pain science education training is required for those delivering the RESOLVE program.

Each session includes 45 minutes of clinical time and an additional 15 minutes for preparation and administration, with remuneration provided for the full hour.

Protocol-specific training is provided and paid for clinicians in each group, with an additional face-to-face training day for those delivering the RESOLVE program.

Clinicians are responsible for delivering the intervention and clinical note-taking.

All research administration and participant recruitment will be managed by NeuRA’s research team.

Why it matters

For clinicians, involvement offers more than remuneration. It is a chance to build skills in an emerging, evidence-based approach to CLBP management, backed by structured, funded training, and to contribute directly to research that could shape how CLBP is treated across Australia. For those looking to deepen their pain science knowledge or add a new clinical tool to their practice, the training and mentoring built into the trial offer a rare, funded pathway to do so.

How to participate

We welcome expressions of interest from experienced clinicians anywhere in Australia.

If you are interested in being involved, complete the expression of interest form or email our RESOLVE-D team at resolved@unsw.edu.au with your location and area of practice.

Recruitment for clinicians is ongoing throughout the trial so expressions of interest are welcome at any time.