NCT07143461

The Effects of Prayer on Pain Thresholds and Scores of Anxiety and Depression in Patients With Migraine and Control

The Effects of Prayer on Pain Thresholds and Scores of Anxiety and Depression in Patients With Migraine and Control: a Randomized Clinical Trial

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 105 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Sao Paulo · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 60 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The objective of this randomized single-blind crossover study is to evaluate the effect of prayer compared to the practice of reading a text (control) on the pressure pain threshold in individuals with and without migraine. The main topics it aims to answer are: * To analyze the relationship between individuals' spirituality, pain thresholds, and anxiety and depression scores. * To evaluate the effects of different aspects of prayer (thanksgiving, adoration, confession, meditative, and petitionary) on cephalic pain thresholds in individuals with and without migraines. Migraine group: 50 participants. Non-migraine group: 50 participants. Total number of participants in total: 100.

Detailed description

Pressure pain thresholds (PPT) represent each person's sensitivity, where the pressure is gradually increased, and participants report when the applied pressure changes from a sensation of pressure to a sensation of pressure and pain. The NOD device is equipped with a digital algometry function, providing reliable quantification of the pressure pain threshold for each individual. For proper use, a 1 cm² adapter will be attached to the front of the device. The tip of this adapter will be positioned perpendicularly to the anatomical structures to be assessed: the temporal region, frontal region, occipital nerve, and vertex. Pain threshold, defined as the minimum pressure required to provoke pain, will be measured in Kg/cm².

Conditions

• Migraine

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Faith Healing	Participants will perform a 10-minute session of silent personal prayer using a prayer they are already familiar with and commonly practice. Participants will be instructed to pray in their usual way without vocalization, focusing on the content/meaning of the prayer. If distracted, they will be asked to gently refocus on prayer.
BEHAVIORAL	Control	In the control condition, participants will read a neutral text with no spiritual or religious content for 10 minutes. If distracted, they should refocus on the text.

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-09-29
• Primary completion: 2025-09-29
• Completion: 2025-09-29
• First posted: 2025-08-27
• Last updated: 2026-02-25

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Brazil