NCT06851208

Do Emotions and Pain Combined Affect Mechanical Pain Thresholds and Other Pain-related Variables in Individuals with Chronic Pain?

• Status: Not Yet Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 180 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Linnaeus University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 19 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The purpose of this study is to investigate if different emotional states could influence mechanical pain thresholds and other pain - related variables such as pain tolerance, pain intensity and pain - related negative affect in individuals with chronic pain.

Detailed description

Participants with chronic pain will be randomized into 4 different groups watching different short video-clips (2.20 min), while at the same time experience short-lasting, experimentally induced pain. The negative emotions group will watch an uncomfortable short video containing violence and blood, the positive emotions group will watch a video containing a stand-up comedy show, the neutral emotions group will watch a video about how to paint a house, and the control group will just wait for 2.20 min, without any instructions about what to think about. Pressure pain thresholds, pain tolerance, pain intensity and pain-related negative affect will be measured with an algometer before and after the video-clip combined with experimental pain interventions.

Conditions

• Pain Thresholds
• Pain Intensity

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Emotional intervention	Emotional intervention Description: The participant will watch a short video-clip with negative emotional content while simultaneously experience experimentally induced pain.
OTHER	Emotional intervention	Description: The participant will watch a short video-clip with positive emotional content while simultaneously experience experimentally induced pain.
OTHER	Emotional intervention	Description: The participant will watch a short video-clip with neutral emotional content while simultaneously experience experimentally induced pain.

Timeline

• Start date: 2026-03-01
• Primary completion: 2026-06-30
• Completion: 2026-06-30
• First posted: 2025-02-28
• Last updated: 2025-02-28