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Physiotherapists' Placebo or Nocebo Communication Regarding VR in CMP

NCT06282757 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 115

Last updated 2025-09-16

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Rationale: Chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP) is a common and disabling condition. Physiotherapy is the most frequently administered non-pharmacological treatment option for patients with CMP and recently virtual reality (VR) was introduced in physiotherapy care as a novel treatment modality. Proper communication about physiotherapy treatment (modalities) is important to improve treatment outcomes, by applying placebo effects enhancing communication and avoiding nocebo effects enhancing communication. However, yet is still unknown to what extent this applies to communication of physiotherapists about VR in patients with CMP.

Objective: To determine the effect of physiotherapists' placebo or nocebo therapeutic communication about VR, on treatment credibility and expectation in patients with CMP

Study design: Web-based randomized controlled trial.

Study population: 100 participants

Intervention: The placebo intervention group will be shown an educational video about VR, containing placebo effects enhancing verbal language. The nocebo intervention group will be shown an educational video about VR, containing nocebo effects enhancing verbal language.

Primary study parameters: The primary study parameters are treatment credibility and treatment expectation. Treatment credibility and treatment expectations will be measured using the Dutch credibility and expectancy questionnaire (CEQ).

Conditions

Interventions

OTHER

Video placebo communication

The placebo communication video comprises of an educational VR video containing placebo enhancing verbal language.

OTHER

Video nocebo communication

The nocebo communication video comprises of an educational VR video containing nocebo stimulating verbal language.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • HAN University of Applied Sciences

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Bart Staal, PhD · HAN University of Applied Sciences

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
TRIPLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2024-04-01
Primary Completion
2024-06-30
Completion
2024-06-30

Countries

  • Netherlands

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Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT06282757 on ClinicalTrials.gov