An Internet-Delivered Pain Management Programme for Spinal Cord Injury Pain

Dearbhla Burke

Status: Unknown

Conditions: Spinal Cord Injuries; Chronic Pain, Widespread

Treatments: Other: SPIRE

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03150017

SPIRE2017

Details and patient eligibility

About

To establish the effectiveness of an internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy pain management programme (CBT-PMP) on people with spinal cord injury pain compared with usual care.

Full description

A pilot prospective, single blinded, randomised controlled trial with two arms an internet-delivered CBT-PMP for chronic pain post spinal cord injury (SCI) and usual care.

The CBT-PMP will contain 8 sessions over 8 weeks, with outcomes assessed at baseline, post intervention, and 6 months follow-up.

Participants will be adults with chronic pain (pain > 3 months), regular internet access and not undergoing any other psychological treatments.

Following the study those in the intervention strand will be invited to complete a focus group to explore the subjects' overall experience of the online CBT-PMP.

Enrollment: 70 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Traumatic or non-traumatic SCI
• Chronic SCI pain of more than three months.
• Discharged from acute hospital and rehabilitation services.
• Males/Females >18years.
• Regular computer and Internet access and working knowledge of the internet.
• Fluency in English (verbal and written).

Exclusion criteria

• Those who have completed a PMP before
• Mental health issue which requiring psychiatric management.
• Acute injury, currently under specialist medical care.
• Patients with confounding co-morbidities such as cancer, unstable angina / uncontrolled cardiac arrhythmias/ severe aortic stenosis, acute systemic infection accompanied by fever, systemic/inflammatory diseases eg rheumatoid arthritis/substance abuse/significant mental health issues.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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70 participants in 2 patient groups

Online programme

Experimental group

Description:

SPIRE The programme consists of six modules over six weeks and is based on cognitive behavioural principles. It comprises psychology sessions using cognitive techniques to identify unhelpful and unrealistic thoughts and beliefs related to pain and to challenge and change them and weekly relaxation audios and a home exercise session. Goal setting by participants is used encouraged throughout the programme to aid the implementation of learned CBT techniques into daily life. Educational sessions are delivered across a range of topics including mechanisms of pain after SCI, explanations of the pain gate control theory and how CBT strategies employed can impact on the perception of pain, discussion of medication use, stress management and pacing strategies for activities of daily living.

Treatment:

Other: SPIRE

Usual Care

No Intervention group

Description:

Continue to manage pain using usual care.