Active Coping Program for Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: A Controlled Clinical Study

Universidad de Extremadura

Status: Begins enrollment this month

Conditions: Chronic Pain; Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain

Treatments: Other: Usual Care; Behavioral: Active Coping Program

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07322822

11

Details and patient eligibility

About

Chronic musculoskeletal pain is a highly prevalent condition that is often associated with persistent pain, physical disability, and maladaptive psychosocial factors such as pain catastrophizing, fear of movement, and central sensitization. These factors can contribute to pain persistence and reduced quality of life, highlighting the need for multimodal, non-pharmacological interventions that address both physical and psychological dimensions of pain.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of an active coping program for patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain compared with usual care. The intervention is designed to promote active pain management strategies through education, movement-based exercises, and behavioral approaches aimed at improving pain coping, reducing disability, and addressing psychosocial contributors to chronic pain.

This is a controlled interventional study in which adult patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain will be allocated to either an intervention group receiving the active coping program or a control group receiving usual care. Outcome measures will be assessed at baseline and after completion of the intervention. Primary and secondary outcomes include pain-related disability, pain catastrophizing, fear of movement, symptoms of central sensitization, and health-related quality of life, measured using validated questionnaires.

The findings of this study are expected to provide evidence on the clinical effectiveness of an active coping approach in the management of chronic musculoskeletal pain and to support its implementation in routine clinical practice within primary care settings.

Enrollment: 60 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Adults aged 18 years or older.

Diagnosis of chronic musculoskeletal pain, defined as pain persisting for more than 3 months.

Ability to understand study procedures and complete self-reported questionnaires.

Ability to participate in an active coping program involving education and movement-based activities.

Provision of written informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

• Presence of serious neurological, rheumatologic, or systemic disease that may interfere with participation in the intervention or outcome assessment.

Severe cognitive impairment or psychiatric condition that limits understanding of the study procedures.

Ongoing participation in another structured pain management or rehabilitation program.

Any medical condition that, in the opinion of the investigators, would make participation unsafe or compromise study results.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

---

60 participants in 2 patient groups

Active Coping Program

Experimental group

Treatment:

Behavioral: Active Coping Program

Usual Care

Active Comparator group

Treatment:

Other: Usual Care