Clinical trial NCT06851208: Do Emotions and Pain Combined Affect Mechanical Pain Thresholds and Other Pain-related Variables in Individuals with Chronic Pain?
Official title: Do Emotions and Pain Combined Affect Mechanical Pain Thresholds and Other Pain-related Variables in Individuals with Chronic Pain?
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
Phase: NA
Conditions: Pain Thresholds
Pain Intensity
Keywords: Pressure pain thresholds
Pain
Emotions
Lead sponsor: Linnaeus University
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2025-02-28
Enrollment: 180
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 19
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: Within-subjects design
Primary purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE

Brief summary: The purpose of this study is to investigate if different emotional states could influence mechanical pain thresholds and other pain - related variables such as pain tolerance, pain intensity and pain - related negative affect in individuals with chronic pain.

Detailed description: Participants with chronic pain will be randomized into 4 different groups watching different short video-clips (2.20 min), while at the same time experience short-lasting, experimentally induced pain. The negative emotions group will watch an uncomfortable short video containing violence and blood, the positive emotions group will watch a video containing a stand-up comedy show, the neutral emotions group will watch a video about how to paint a house, and the control group will just wait for 2.20 min, without any instructions about what to think about. Pressure pain thresholds, pain tolerance, pain intensity and pain-related negative affect will be measured with an algometer before and after the video-clip combined with experimental pain interventions.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Above 18 years of age
* Fluent in Swedish
* Persistent chronic pain with duration \> 6 months

Exclusion criteria:

- Known neurological disease

Primary outcomes:
measure: Pressure pain thresholds
timeFrame: Day 1: baseline PPTs are measured, intervention 2.20 min follows and intervention PPTs are measured directly after the intervention. Recruitment for single appointments for each participant will take place for 4 months.
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Pain tolerance (time in seconds the left hand is immersed in cold water 1 degree C).
timeFrame: Day 1: During a single session (30 min), the participant will keep their hand immersed in cold water for as long as possible while watching a video. This time will be measured in seconds.
measure: Pain intensity on the NRS
timeFrame: Day 1: Pain intensity will be estimated at single session appointments (30 min) on the NRS (Numerical Rating Scale) after the intervention. Participants will be successively recruited for single session appointments for 4 months.
measure: Pain-related negative affect on the NRS-A
timeFrame: Day 1: Pain intensity will be estimated at single session appointments (30 min) on the NRS-A (Numerical Rating Scale-Anxiety) after the intervention. Participants will be successively recruited for single session appointments for 4 months.
Other outcomes:
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