Recruiting

Observational Study

Sponsor:

University of Missouri-Columbia

Code:

NCT07215845

Conditions

Pars Interarticularis Stress Fracture

Pars Interarticularis Stress Injury

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 12 - 30

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

MRI

Study Details

Brief summary:

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn more about the natural healing process of pars stress injuries in adolescents and young adults by documenting bony bridging across stress fractures using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). It is hypothesized that many of these injuries can and will heal with appropriate rest and rehabilitation. Long-term, it is hoped that follow-up MRI exams can help guide clinical management by visualizing the healing and allowing individuals to return to play after bony bridging has occurred.

Participants will be asked to undergo serial MRI scans over the course of a 12-month period and answer a brief questionnaire at each visit.

Conditions

Pars Interarticularis Stress Fracture

Pars Interarticularis Stress Injury

Study ID

NCT07215845

Start date

Dec 12, 2025

Status verified date

Jul, 2026

Completion date

Dec 31, 2028

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec 31, 2027

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 12 - 30

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 12-30 years old
  • Symptoms of back pain at the time of enrollment
  • Clinical imaging demonstrating pars stress interarticularis injury or pars interarticularis defect

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Prior lumbar surgery
  • Any condition for which an MRI procedure is contraindicated (e.g., metallic material in the body such as pacemakers, metallic clips, etc.)
  • Pregnancy
  • Likelihood of claustrophobia
  • Any patient-related factors that compromised quality on the initial diagnostic scan (patient motion, ascites fluid, difficulty with positioning during the scan)

Study Design

Enrollment

40 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Non randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Diagnostic

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Test Group

Participants will receive serial MRIs over the course of 12-months at 2-, 4-, 6-, and 12 month intervals. This group's images will be used to help guide their clinical care outcomes.

other: Control Group

Participants will receive serial MRIs over the course of 12-months at 2-, 4-, 6-, and 12 month intervals. This group's images will NOT be used to help guide their clinical care outcomes for the 2-, 4-, and 6-month images. However, the 12-month images may be used to guide clinical care outcomes.

Interventions

MRI

Reader confidence using standard lumbar MRI techniques on diagnosing pars stress injuries will be compared to advanced techniques. Additionally, various software/MRI sequences will be tested to evaluate image quality and to improve resolution compared to institution pars MRI scan protocols.

Primary outcome measure

  • Pars Stress Injury Healing [ Time Frame: From enrollment to 12 months (4 total research scans at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, and 12 months post initial scan) ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Hailey N Schlaffer

573-882-0515hs2c8@umsystem.edu

Kim Ray

573-882-0515raykk@health.missouri.edu

Locations

University of Missouri - Columbia

Recruiting

Columbia, Missouri, United States, 65212

Contacts

Hailey N Schlaffer

573-882-0515hs2c8@umsystem.edu

Kim Ray

573-882-0515raykk@health.missouri.edu

Principal Investigator:

Lauren Pringle, MD

More Information

Sponsor

University of Missouri-Columbia

Last update posted

Jul 22, 2026

Last verified

Jul, 2026

Keywords

  • MRI
  • Pars Interarticularis Stress Fracture
  • Pars Interarticularis Stress Injury
  • Pars

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-09. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Missouri-Columbia on 2026-07-22.