Rehabilitation With Empowered STrategies to Optimize REcovery

The main goal of this clinical trial is to understand the benefits of remotely delivered Empowered Relief in patients undergoing lumbar spine surgery. The main question the trial aims to answer is: Does a postoperative behavioral intervention, Empowered Relief, performed early after back surgery have a measurable impact on postoperative outcomes? Additional questions are whether changes in pain catastrophizing are related to improvements in outcomes and whether preoperative pain catastrophizing is a moderator of response to treatment. Researchers will compare remotely delivered Empowered Relief to remotely delivered education to see if Empowered Relief helps patients manage their pain and functional limitations after back surgery. Participants will: * Complete one group session of remotely delivered Empowered Relief or Education after back surgery * Complete surveys before surgery and 3- and 6-months after surgery

NCT Number	NCT07406997
Lead Sponsor	Vanderbilt University Medical Center Collaborators: United States Department of Defense
Conditions	Lumbar Spine Degenerative Changes, Lumbar Spine Surgery
Enrollment	100 participants
Start Date	2026-02-24
Primary Completion	2029-02-28 (estimated)
Study Completion	2029-08-31 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-06-01