Mind-body Therapies for Injury-related Pain Management in Elite Athletes

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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This study will utilize a replicated single case experimental design (RSCD) to investigate the effectiveness of a brief mindfulness meditation (MM) vs clinical hypnosis (HYP) training for improving pain in injured elite athletes. The primary outcome is change in pain intensity. It is hypothesized that: (1) both treatments will engender clinically meaningful improvement in pain intensity; (2) change in cognitive processes will be a unique mechanism underlying improved pain outcome in MM, and (3) change in cognitive content will be a unique mechanism underlying improved pain outcome in HYP. This research program has the potential to reduce athletes' uncertainty around pain, time out with injury and improve pain management during rehabilitation and recovery from injury.

Detailed Description
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The proposed program of research will utilize our current understanding of the Behavioral Inhibition System and Behavioral Activation System (BIS-BAS) model of pain and mind-body therapies and apply it to pain experienced by injured elite athletes. This study will be a replicated single case experimental design (RSCD), which will investigate the effectiveness of a brief mindfulness meditation (MM) vs clinical hypnosis (HYP) training for improving the primary outcome of pain intensity in injured elite athletes. It will also investigate the potential mechanism role of change in cognitive content and cognitive processes in underlying the effects of these mind-body therapies. It is hypothesized that: (1) both treatments will engender clinically meaningful improvement in pain intensity; (2) change in cognitive processes will be a unique mechanism underlying improved pain outcome in MM, and (3) change in cognitive content will be a unique mechanism underlying improved pain outcome in HYP. This research program has the potential to reduce athletes' uncertainty around pain, time out with injury and improve pain management during rehabilitation and recovery from injury.

Official Title
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Investigating the Effectiveness of Mindfulness Meditation and Clinical Hypnosis for Injury-related Pain Management in Elite Athletes

Conditions
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Pain, Acute

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Mindfulness Meditation
* Behavioral: Clinical Hypnosis


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: be an elite athlete (i.e., competing at international or division 1 varsity level), currently have a sport or exercise-related injury that resulted in an average pain intensity greater than or equal to 3 on a 0-10 numerical rating scale in the past week, and for which the predicted recovery time at the point of study enrolment is greater than 5 weeks, Be 18 or over. Read, speak, and understand the English language. Have access to the internet on a computer or smartphone. Have access to a set of headphones. Be willing to be randomly assigned to both conditions and listen to five 20-minute treatment sessions. Be willing to participate in a daily survey for 25 consecutive days.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Interventional Model Description: Replicated single case experimental design
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Active Comparator: Mindfulness Meditation<br>Condition 1, Mindfulness Meditation (MM): The MM recording will be adapted from Day (2017). It will first instruct the listener to anchor attention on the breath while being mindfully aware of any physical sensations that arise throughout the body. The listener is then encouraged to explore sensations with non-judgmental attentiveness, without attempts to change the sensation in any way. This will implicitly provide training in mindful acceptance. Finally, the listener is instructed to simply label any thinking that arises as thinking, before returning to the object of the meditation. | Behavioral: Mindfulness Meditation<br>* Five, 20-minute audio-recorded training sessions of mindfulness of breath and body meditation, practiced over consecutive days, delivered remotely via Qualtrics.<br>|
| Active Comparator: Clinical Hypnosis<br>Condition 2, Clinical Hypnosis (HYP): The HYP recording will be adapted from Jensen (2011). It will take the listener through a standardised self-hypnosis practice that includes an induction, followed by tailored suggestions. Specifically, the HYP session aims to take the listener through four basic ideas: 1) an induction to get the individual into a state of readiness to accept new ideas; 2) instructions to go to a favourite place to deepen the induction and provide a context for feeling heat while being relaxed; 3) linking suggestions for reducing automatic behavioural inhibition system and behavioural activation system (BIS-BAS) activation in response to stressors and enhancing awareness of when to activate each system; 4) suggestions that target enhancing self-confidence in pain management, well-being and the rehabilitation process; and 5) alerting. | Behavioral: Clinical Hypnosis<br>* Five, 20-minute audio-recorded training sessions of clinical hypnosis with suggestions targeting pain management, practiced over consecutive days, delivered remotely via Qualtrics.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) of Current Pain Intensity | Change in pain intensity will be measured using a 0-10 numerical rating scale (NRS) of average pain in the past 24 hours. Participants will be asked to choose a number from 0-10 that best represents their pain intensity. Higher scores indicate higher levels of self-reported pain intensity. | Assessed online daily during randomized baseline length of 5, 10 or 15 days, 5 day treatment period, and randomized post-treatment phase of 5, 10 or 15 days of assessment | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) of Current Pain Unpleasantness | Change in pain unpleasantness will be measured using a 0-10 numerical rating scale (NRS) of average pain unpleasantness in the past 24 hours. Participants will be asked to choose a number from 0-10 that best represents their pain unpleasantness. Higher scores indicate higher levels of self-reported pain unpleasantness. | Assessed online daily during randomized baseline length of 5, 10 or 15 days, 5 day treatment period, and randomized post-treatment phase of 5, 10 or 15 days of assessment | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Mindfulness meditation, Clinical hypnosis, Elite athletes