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Feasibility Trial of ScarWork for Post-breast Surgery Pain Syndrome.

NCT07206394 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 40

Last updated 2025-10-03

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United Kingdom (UK). Most women are treated with a combination of surgery and radiotherapy. While these treatments are effective, they can cause ongoing breast pain for some, which can last months or even years. This long-term pain can have a major impact on quality of life, yet it is often overlooked and not well managed in routine care.

One in three women may still experience breast pain three years after treatment. The pain can come from scarring, tissue damage, or nerve changes caused by surgery and radiotherapy. Treatments for this pain are limited. Many patients are advised the pain will subside on its own or are given basic painkillers, which sometimes have limited impact.

ScarWork is a light-touch manual therapy, developed in the United States and aims to improve the way scars feel and look, reduce pain and tightness, and support healing. Although it has been available in the United Kingdom since 2014, there is very little research into whether ScarWork helps people who experience pain after breast cancer treatment.

This small study is a first step to see whether ScarWork could be a useful treatment for people who have experience breast pain after surgery and/or radiotherapy. The researchers want to know:

* Can this therapy be delivered in an NHS setting?
* Do people find it helpful?
* Is it worth doing a larger trial in the future?

Participants will be randomly placed in one of two groups: one group will continue with usual care, and the other will receive up to five sessions of ScarWork in addition to usual care. Everyone in the study will be asked to complete short questionnaires about their pain and other symptoms, before and after treatment, and again one month later. Participants will also be invited to talk about their experiences in a short phone or online interview.

This research will help show whether ScarWork might be a useful option for people dealing with breast pain after treatment. It will also help researchers design a larger trial in the future to test ScarWork more fully.

Conditions

  • Breast Cancer Early Stage Breast Cancer (Stage 1-3)

Interventions

OTHER

ScarWork therapy

ScarWork is a manual therapy technique involving gentle, hands-on massage of scar tissue. It is designed to improve the mobility and integration of scar tissue, reduce discomfort, and support tissue healing. The approach is tailored to each individual, based on the characteristics of their scar and sensitivity of the surrounding tissue. It is commonly used with people recovering from surgery or radiotherapy to help address symptoms such as pain, tightness, numbness, or altered sensation. In this study, participants in the intervention group will receive up to five ScarWork sessions delivered by a trained therapist, in addition to standard care.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of West London

    collaborator OTHER

  • University College London Hospitals

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2025-06-20
Primary Completion
2026-03-31
Completion
2026-06-30

Countries

  • United Kingdom

Study Locations

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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 NCT07206394 on ClinicalTrials.gov