None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
This study will investigate whether the expectation of threat influences sensitivity to pressure in healthy people. All participants will have their pressure-pain threshold on the back of their forearm measured using an algometer. Participants will then be randomised into two groups: one will be told their arm will be immersed in green coloured, neutral temperature water (control group). The other group will be told their hand will be placed in a bucket of painfully cold water (intervention). Pressure pain-threshold will be re-measured post randomisation. We hypothesise that the cold water group will demonstrate reduced pressure pain thresholds, suggesting an increase in sensitivity, after being told they are going to have their arm immersed in cold water compared to those who are randomised into the neutral temperature water.
Interventions
This study investigates sensory weighting under expected pain or threat induced by noxious cold-water immersion using a randomised controlled trial design. Healthy, pain-free participants will be recruited under the impression they are participating in a study examining responses to cold water immersion. They will be randomised to one of two groups. One group of participants will be led to believe their hand will be placed in a bucket of noxiously cold water and another group will be lead to believe that their hand will be placed in neutral, comfortable water. Though, in reality, their hand will not be immersed at any point. Conditioning Phase: In the week before the testing session, all eligible volunteers will be e-mailed information about the study including detail that immersion of the hand into either noxious/non-noxious cold water would be required. This e-mail will state that blue coloured water will be cold and noxious, whereas green coloured water will be a neutral (no sensation of cold) temperature and non-noxious. The email will contain photos of a grimacing participant with their hand immersed in a container of blue water and an unconcerned participant with their hand in green water. Attached to the e-mail will be a video link to the experimental setup, which the participants will be asked to watch before attendance. This video will show a participant displaying overt pain behaviour during a blue water hand immersion task and no distress or pain behaviours during green water immersion. A large poster will also be attached to the test venue wall, illustrating the experimental set up in pictorial form identical to the e-mails. The intervention arm will be assigned to expect immersion in the blue-coloured (noxious cold) water. Though, in reality, their hand will not be immersed at any point. Testing will occur in a single session lasting less than one hour in a research lab at the University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle Campus. The intervention will be administered only once, by a member of the research team.
Sponsors
Faculty of Medicine, Nursing & Midwifery and Health Sciences
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Investigator)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
We seek to recruit healthy, pain free adult volunteers. We will recruit within the Notre Dame and related community via advertisement, email, social media and snowball techniques. There is no other specific targeting of any group beyond this healthy pain-free sample
Exclusion criteria
Participants with any current pain complaint, ongoing medical problems or a history of any musculoskeletal pain problem affecting the neck or arm requiring medical attention within the last two years will be excluded.
Outcome results
None listed