NCT04917107

CREATION: A Clinical Trial of Qigong for Neuropathic Pain Relief in Adults With Spinal Cord Injury

Terminated NA Last updated 26 September 2025

What this trial tests

NA trial testing Qigong in Spinal Cord Injuries in 23 participants. Terminated before completion.

Timeline

1 July 2021

Primary endpoint
1 February 2023

1 February 2023

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	University of Minnesota
Phase	NA
Status	Terminated
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	parallel
Masking	single
Primary purpose	treatment
Enrollment	23
Start date	1 July 2021
Primary completion	1 February 2023
Estimated completion	1 February 2023
Sites	1 location across United States

Drugs / interventions tested

• Qigong

Conditions studied

• Spinal Cord Injuries — all drugs for Spinal Cord Injuries →

Sponsor

University of Minnesota

Who can join

Adults 18 to 75, any sex, with Spinal Cord Injuries. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

Between 39-67% of the 294,000 Americans who have a SCI suffer from long-term debilitating neuropathic pain, interfering with rehabilitation, general activity, mobility, mood, sleep, and quality of life. Pain can hinder any potential for functional improvement that could be obtained during rehabilitation. Yet, neuropathic pain is refractory to many treatments. Current interventions, such as medications and physical therapy, result in less than 50% reduction in pain for only about one third of the people trying them, calling for new treatment options.

Qigong, a mind and body approach that incorporates gentle body movements, paired with a focus on breathing and body awareness to promote health and wellness, could reduce SCI-related neuropathic pain. If the hypothesis is supported, the resulting work could be transformative in demonstrating a potentially effective therapy for civilians, military Service members, and Veterans with SCI and neuropathic pain. The following provides the scientific basis for this hypothesis and establishes the rationale for this approach.

This study also includes an optional, remote, quasi-experimental substudy, in which all participants will receive Qigong for 12 weeks, followed by 6 weeks followup.

Publications & conference data

4 peer-reviewed publications reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. Feasibility of using remotely delivered Spring Forest Qigong to reduce neuropathic pain in adults with spinal cord injury: a pilot study.
   Van de Winckel A, Carpentier ST, Deng W, Zhang L, et al · · 2023 · cited 5× · PMID 37719467 · DOI 10.3389/fphys.2023.1222616
2. Using remotely delivered Spring Forest Qigong™ to reduce neuropathic pain in adults with spinal cord injury: protocol of a quasi-experimental feasibility clinical trial.
   Van de Winckel A, Carpentier S, Deng W, Zhang L, et al · · 2023 · cited 5× · PMID 37608389 · DOI 10.1186/s40814-023-01374-3
3. Using remotely delivered Spring Forest Qigong™ to reduce neuropathic pain in adults with spinal cord injury: A non-randomized controlled trial
   Van de Winckel A, Carpentier ST, Deng W, Zhang L, et al · · 2023 · DOI 10.1101/2023.02.11.23285793
4. Using remotely delivered Spring Forest Qigong™ to reduce neuropathic pain in adults with spinal cord injury: Protocol of a quasi-experimental clinical trial
   Van de Winckel A, Carpentier S, Deng W, Zhang L, et al · · 2022 · DOI 10.1101/2022.03.09.22271844