NCT06169917

Pain Processing In Relation To Breathing

Potential Influences of Respiration Patterns on Experimental Pain Sensitization

• Status: Unknown
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 200 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Balgrist University Hospital · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 40 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to investigate the effect of breathing on the processing of experimental pain in healthy participants. The main questions are: 1. Does breathing rate influence the spatial extent of thermally induced secondary hyperalgesia, a proxy of central sensitization? 2. Does resonance frequency breathing influence the autonomic nervous system, compared to baseline and compared to paced breathing at a natural frequency? 3. Is spinal excitability, measured using the magnitude of the nociception withdrawal reflex (NWR), affected by resonance frequency breathing, compared to paced breathing at a natural frequency? Participants: * will receive heat stimuli * 's skin's sensitivity will be tested using quantitative sensory testing tools. * will receive various instructions on the speed of their breathing * 's heart rate, respiratory rate and sweat response will be measured * will fill in questionnaires Researchers will compare the spatial extent of sensitivity resulting from application of heat stimuli during paced resonance frequency breathing compared to paced breathing at a natural frequency to see if the breathing rhythm influences central sensitization processes.

Conditions

• Central Sensitisation
• Pain

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Paced Resonance Frequency Breathing	Participants are required to pace their breathing to their pre-determined individual resonance frequency.
BEHAVIORAL	Paced Breathing at Natural Frequency	Participants are required to pace their breathing to their pre-determined individual breathing frequency at rest.
OTHER	Heat Stimulations	Participants will undergo a heat stimulation procedure on their left and right foot (the order of which is counterbalanced across participants). During this procedure, there are 10 blocks, with an inter-stimulus interval of 30 seconds between two blocks. During a block, six 6-second heat stimulations (48 degrees) are given. Between the stimulations, the temperature quickly returns to baseline (32 degrees).

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-05-14
• Primary completion: 2025-05-31
• Completion: 2025-05-31
• First posted: 2023-12-14
• Last updated: 2023-12-14

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Switzerland