Pain, Acute
Conditions
Brief summary
The goal of the present study is to compare different therapeutic strategies (according to habituation model vs. according to the inhibitory learning approach) during exposure to thermal pain in an experimental design.
Detailed description
Exposure therapy is effective for the treatment of individuals with chronic pain and high levels of fear-avoidance. Nevertheless, mechanisms of change for exposure treatment are not sufficiently investigated. According to the habituation model, the activation of a fear structure leads to a habituation of the initial physical response. Therefore, the therapeutic recommendation is to focus on the reduction of fear during exposure sessions. According to the inhibitory learning approach, however, exposure experiences compete with the original US-CS fear association. Therefore, the therapist should maximize the violation of negative expectancies. The present study intends to compare both strategies during the exposure to pain in an experimental design.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALExposure therapy (according to habituation approach)
Exposure instruction focuses on fear reduction during exposure sessions
BEHAVIORALExposure therapy (according to inhibitory learning approach)
Exposure instruction focuses on expectation violation during exposure sessions
Sponsors
Philipps University Marburg
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)
Masking description
Participants were not aware which experimental condition they were allocated to.
Intervention model description
participants are assigned to one of three experimental groups in parallel for the duration of the study
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to 60 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* female gender * sufficient knowledge of German language
Exclusion criteria
* chronic and acute pain conditions * Raynaud's disease * high blood pressure * neuropathy, coronary diseases * diabetes, current alcohol * drug or pain-medication (last 24hours)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Pain tolerance | 5 minutes prior and 5 minutes after three exposure practice trials | Determined by the temperature at which the participant stopped the heat stimulus |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Pain quality | 5 minutes prior and 5 minutes after three exposure practice trials | Measured on an 11-points scale (0 = bearable; 10 = unbearable) |
| Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) | 1-week prior and 10 minutes after three exposure practice trials | Pain catastrophizing thoughts (e.g. I worry all the time about whether the pain will end.) |
| Pain intensity | 5 minutes prior and 5 minutes after three exposure practice trials | Measured on an 11-point scale (0 = no pain; 10 = worst imaginable pain) |
| Pain Processing (Fragebogen zur Erfassung der Schmerzverarbeitung, FESV) | 1-week prior and 10 minutes after three exposure practice trials | Cognitive pain coping strategies (e.g. When I am in pain, I know several possibilities how to handle them.) |
| Psychophysiological activation | throughout the experiment (5 minutes prior, during and 10 minutes after three exposure practice trails | e.g. skin conductance responses, heart rate |
| Pain Anxiety Symptom Scale (PASS) | 1-week prior and 10 minutes after three exposure practice trials | Pain-related anxiety (e.g. I worry when I am in pain.) |
Countries
Germany
Outcome results
None listed