Laterality Training and Pain Drawings

Starting soon · Not applicable · Has a placebo group

Conditions studied: Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain, Chronic Shoulder Pain, Chronic Knee Pain

In brief

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if laterality training (a type of brain-based therapy) can help reduce pain and change how people with chronic musculoskeletal pain experience and describe their pain. The study will focus on adults with shoulder or knee pain lasting longer than 6 months. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does laterality training lead to a reduction in self-reported pain levels? Does laterality training reduce the area of the body that participants indicate as painful in their pain drawings? Does laterality training improve accuracy and speed in left/right judgment tasks? Researchers will compare participants who complete laterality training to those who complete a non-therapeutic cognitive task (a word puzzle) to see if laterality training changes pain drawings and improves pain outcomes. Participants will: Complete a pre-intervention assessment including pain ratings, pain drawings, and a left/right judgment test Be randomly assigned to one of two groups: Intervention group: Complete 5 one-minute sessions of laterality training using a tablet-based app called Recognise™, identifying left or right hand/foot images depending on the location of their pain Control group: Complete a 10-minute crossword puzzle activity (non-therapeutic) Complete the same assessments after the activity (pain ratings, pain drawings, left/right judgment test) The study will take place at two outpatient physical therapy clinics. Participation involves a single session lasting approximately 30-45 minutes. There is no cost to participate, and no compensation is provided. Participation is voluntary, and all personal data will be kept confidential. This research will help determine whether laterality training, a non-invasive brain-based technique, can reduce pain and improve quality of life in people with long-standing musculoskeletal pain.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT07078084

Run by

Hawaii Pacific University

People needed

60

Starts

2025-08-01

Expected to finish

2026-02-01

Last updated by the study team

2025-07-22

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Adults aged 18 years or older
• Diagnosis of chronic shoulder or knee pain lasting more than 6 months
• Able to read and understand English
• Willing to provide written informed consent

You may not qualify if…

• Visual impairments that would interfere with laterality training (e.g., blindness or significant difficulty with vision)
• Previous participation in laterality (left/right discrimination) training
• Unwilling or unable to participate in the study procedures

Where it is running

• Rock Valley Physical Therapy — Moline, Illinois, United States
• Rock Valley Physical Therapy — Davenport, Iowa, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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