Recruiting

Yoga vs. ACT

Sponsor:

Palo Alto Veterans Institute for Research

Code:

NCT06704061

Conditions

Chronic Pain

Musculoskeletal Pain

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Yoga

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Study Details

Brief summary:

This study will compare online yoga with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), an established treatment for chronic pain. We will compare the efficacy of the two treatments for reducing chronic musculoskeletal pain in veterans.

Conditions

Chronic Pain

Musculoskeletal Pain

Study ID

NCT06704061

Start date

Jan 7, 2026

Status verified date

Nov, 2025

Completion date

Nov 1, 2029

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Nov 1, 2029

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Veteran of the United States Armed Forces ≥ 18 years old
  • Chronic pain > 6 months related to at least one musculoskeletal pain-related diagnosis indicated by an ICD-9 or -10 code
  • Minimum pain intensity at screening ≥4 on a 0-10 using the Defense and Veterans Pain Rating Scale (DVPRS)
  • Not begun new pain treatments or medications in the past month
  • Stable medication regimen for at least 4 weeks prior to entry to the study
  • English literacy
  • Internet connection at home

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Participation in another clinical trial, unless given prior authorization from both our research team and that of the other study
  • Back surgery within the last 12 months
  • Back pain potentially attributed to a specific known condition
  • Baseline pain <4 or ≥9 on a 0-10 Numeric Rating Scale
  • Unstable, serious coexisting medical illness, mental illness or psychiatric conditions
  • Attended or practiced yoga ≥ 1 x in the past 12 months
  • Current suicidal intent or plan
  • Has received ACT in the past

Study Design

Enrollment

274 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Online Yoga

Postures, meditation, breathing exercises

active comparator: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Behavioral medicine

Interventions

Yoga

A 12-week online yoga course designed to treat pain.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

A 12-week behavioral therapy course designed to treat pain.

Primary outcome measure

  • Pain Interference (Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form) [ Time Frame: Baseline, End-of-treatment at 12 weeks, and 6 months after treatment ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Peter Bayley, PhD

650-493-5000peter.bayley@va.gov

Locations

Palo Alto VA Medical Center

Recruiting

Palo Alto, California, United States, 94304

Contacts

Peter Bayley, PhD

650-493-5000peter.bayley@va.gov

Annie Lau, BA

6503748516annie.lau2@va.gov

Principal Investigator:

Peter Bayley, PhD

More Information

Sponsor

Palo Alto Veterans Institute for Research

Last update posted

Jan 29, 2026

Last verified

Nov, 2025

Keywords

  • chronic pain
  • veteran
  • musculoskeletal pain
  • yoga

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Palo Alto Veterans Institute for Research on 2026-01-29.