Solving SCI Pain: Pain Recovery Tools for SCI

Summary

Brief Summary The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate whether a neuroscience-informed, peer-led self-management program can promote behavior change and reduce pain interference in adults with spinal cord injury (SCI) and chronic pain. The primary aim is to support participants in developing practical, sustainable strategies for managing chronic pain through education, reflection, and consistent application of self-management tools. The program is designed to shift participants from passive recipients of care to active agents in their own pain management process.

Chronic pain is highly prevalent among individuals with SCI, and many report that traditional treatments - primarily pharmacological - provide limited relief and are accompanied by significant side effects. There is a growing need for accessible, non-clinical interventions that empower individuals to manage pain based on the latest neuroscience and behavior change principles.

Solving SCI Pain intervention is a 7-week, multi-component program grounded in brain-based pain science, neuroplasticity, and behavior change models. The main questions it aims to answer are:

* Does the intervention lead to meaningful changes in behavior that support pain self-management?
* Does it reduce pain interference in everyday life?

Participants will:

* Attend three 2-hour group education sessions focused on the neuroscience of pain, the role of fear-avoidance, pain-related beliefs, and body-based self-regulation tools (e.g., movement, Graston, percussion massage, and red light therapy).
* Participate in four individual coaching sessions (up to 1 hour each) designed to help them reflect on their experiences, overcome barriers, and integrate the tools into daily life.
* Follow individualized coaching recommendations and provided resources to support each participant's unique engagement with cognitive and body-based tools over the 7-week period, including light journaling, goal setting, and guided reflections.
* Complete brief check-ins every four days to monitor progress, engagement, and self-reported outcomes.

Group and coaching sessions will be recorded and transcribed to support qualitative analysis, allowing researchers to understand how the intervention is experienced and delivered. This will help refine the program for future implementation and scaling. The study prioritizes accessibility, relevance, and peer involvement to address the real-world needs of individuals living with SCI and chronic pain.

Conditions

• Spinal Cord Injury
• Pain Management
• Self-management Behaviors

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Solving SCI Pain: Peer-Led Pain Self-Management Pain Tools Program

Solving SCI Pain Tools is a 7-week, peer-led, neuroscience-informed pain self-management program uniquely designed for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) and chronic pain. It integrates cognitive and body-based tools not commonly combined in other interventions, such as red light therapy, percussion massage, Graston technique, and guided movement, alongside education on pain neurobiology and behavior change. The program is delivered virtually and emphasizes participant autonomy, optionality, and personal relevance. Distinctively, it includes multiple individualized coaching sessions led by a peer with lived experience of SCI and pain. The program does not prescribe a fixed protocol but encourages flexible, self-paced exploration supported by structured check-ins. The integration of optional, non-clinical somatic tools with behavior-change coaching and SCI-specific education distinguishes this intervention from traditional rehabilitation or pain management programs.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Spinal Cord Injury Ontario

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries

  collaborator OTHER

• University of British Columbia

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Kathleen A Martin Ginis, PhD · University of British Columbia

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-09-15

Primary Completion

2026-02-28

Completion

2026-04-22

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations