Power Over Pain (POP) Study

Summary

Many individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS), spinal cord injury (SCI), acquired amputation (AMP), muscular dystrophy (MD), and low back pain (LBP) experience pain. There has been little research on how to treat this pain. Different types of treatment that include self-hypnosis, education about chronic pain, and learning skills on how to change how a person thinks about his/her pain have been used to treat chronic pain in the general population. The purpose of this study is to see if these different treatments can help decrease pain in people with multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury, and determine how and why these treatments are effective. A subject must have a diagnosis of MS,SCI, AMP, MD, or LBP, have chronic pain, and be at least 18 years old to participate.

Conditions

• Multiple Sclerosis
• Spinal Cord Injury
• Chronic Pain
• Other and Unspecified Amputation Stump Complications
• Muscular Dystrophies
• Low Back Pain

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Pain Self-Management Intervention #1

Pain Self-Management Intervention #1 will consist of four 60-minute sessions conducted in person over four weeks (1 session/week on average), scheduled at times convenient for participants (including evenings and weekends if necessary). The sessions will cover a variety of topics, including the definition of chronic pain, the physiological processes underlying chronic pain, common pain-related conditions such as sleep disturbance, and the effects of chronic pain. Participants will be encouraged to ask questions about and discuss the information presented during the treatment sessions.

BEHAVIORAL

Pain Self-Management Intervention #2

Pain Self-Management Intervention #2 will consist of four 60-minute sessions conducted in person over four weeks (1 session/week on average), scheduled at times convenient for participants (including evenings and weekends if necessary). Pain Self-Management Intervention #2 will emphasize cognitive restructuring skills to replace maladaptive pain-related thoughts with adaptive and reassuring ones. These skills include being able to: (1) develop awareness of one's thoughts; (2) identify and evaluate adaptive/helpful vs. unhelpful/maladaptive thoughts; and (3) develop alternative thoughts to maladaptive thoughts that are (a) realistic, (b) accurate, (c) reassuring, and (d) facilitate positive outcomes.

BEHAVIORAL

Pain Self-Management Intervention #3

Pain Self-Management Intervention #3 will consist of four 60-minute sessions conducted in person over four weeks (1 session/week on average), scheduled at times convenient for participants (including evenings and weekends if necessary). In Pain Self-Management Intervention #3, subjects will relax in a comfortable position with their eyes closed and simply listen to the clinician speak. The clinician will begin the session with a hypnotic induction focusing on being aware of sensations of relaxation, followed by suggestions for decreases in pain intensity and alterations in the sensory experience of "what are sometimes uncomfortable sensations" so that they are more comfortable.

BEHAVIORAL

Pain Self-Management Intervention #4

Pain Self-Management Intervention #4 will consist of four 60-minute sessions conducted in person over four weeks (1 session/week on average), scheduled at times convenient for participants (including evenings and weekends if necessary). Pain Self-Management Intervention #4 will use hypnotic strategies and suggestions for identifying adaptive cognitions and for making adaptive changes in cognitions more integrated into a participant's belief system.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

  collaborator NIH

• National Institutes of Health (NIH)

  collaborator NIH

• University of Washington

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Mark Jensen, PhD · University of Washington

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2013-02-28

Primary Completion

2018-01-31

Completion

2018-01-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations