The Effects of Pain and the Memory of Pain on Autonomic and Neuromuscular Function

Status unconfirmed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Pain

In brief

The prevalence of chronic pain has been estimated at 30% in the US and these values may under report the true prevalence of people who experience long term pain as additional research has shown that 73% will have a reoccurrence of symptoms within 12 months of the original injury indicating that while the pain and symptoms may resolve, additional impairments or issues may underlie the symptoms. Biopsychosocial factors such as depression, post traumatic stress, anxiety, pain catastrophizing, and negative emotions have been closely linked to pain and can influence a patient's pain perceptions. Along these lines, the memory of past experiences and trauma potentially play a large role in these biopsychosocial responses. Research is evolving and a strong correlation has been established between chronic pain and prior history of trauma or abuse and also non-traumatic incidents such as motor vehicle accidents and injuries/surgical procedures. This has led to speculation and research that explores how a variety of life events may become stimulants for long-term alterations in the processing and manifestation of pain and how they may have an enduring impact on physical health outcomes. The proposed research will add to the body of knowledge underlying the association between pain, memory, autonomic system, and neuromuscular function. The goal of this project is to study the relationship between pain memory systems, specifically acute pain, short-term memory of pain, and long term pain memory, and their effects upon neuromuscular and autonomic system responses in the body.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT02269384

Run by

Mount St. Mary's College, Los Angeles, CA

People needed

60

Starts

2014-05-01

Expected to finish

2015-10-01

Last updated by the study team

2015-02-18

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 60. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Individuals who have experienced a significant injury in the lower extremity (i.e. fracture, ligament strain, surgery, trauma) that resulted in a significant loss of function for greater then three weeks time period will be included in the study.
• Significant loss of function will be defined as not being able to walk or being required to use crutches for the three weeks and trauma shall be defined as physical, emotional, or social distress or suffering that also coincided with injury to the lower extremity.
• Individuals with a history of significant injury to the lower extremity will be age and gender matched with individuals who have no history of traumatic injury.

You may not qualify if…

• Acute injuries in the lower extremity occurring less than six weeks prior,
• any heart conditions, any open wounds in their lower extremities,
• severe hypertension greater than 180/110,
• poor sensation in the lower extremities, or
• cognitive impairments that prevent following the instructions of the study, and
• chronic pain greater then 3/10 in any region of the body.

Where it is running

• Mount St. Mary's College — Los Angeles, California, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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