Cocoa Intake and Muscle Pain Sensation

Karolinska Institute

Status: Completed

Conditions: Muscle Pain

Treatments: Other: after - hypertonic saline 5%; Other: before - hypertonic saline 5%

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05378984

CHIMPS

Details and patient eligibility

About

This experimental randomized, double-blind, and controlled study included fifteen young, healthy, and pain-free men and 15 age-matched women.

It lasted for three visits with at least one-week washout. Pain was experimentally induced, twice at each visit, with intramuscular injections of 0.2 mL hypertonic saline (5%), before and after intake of one of the different chocolate-types; white (30% cocoa-content), milk (34% cocoa-content), dark (70% cocoa-content). Pain duration, pain area, peak pain, and pressure pain threshold were assessed every fifth minute after each injection, between the time-points 5 to 30 min.

Prior to inclusion, all participants underwent an examination in a dental chair. This included a clinical examination of the orofacial region according to the Diagnostic Criteria for temporomandibular disorders (DC/TMD) by a blinded examiner. Participants were also examined regarding their psychosocial status prior to inclusion, this included depression, somatization, anxiety, pain catastrophizing and stress.

Enrollment: 30 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 40 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. good general health
2. age between 18-40 years

Exclusion criteria

1. any pain-related diagnosis of TMD or of the orofacial region
2. any headaches
3. a diagnosis of systemic muscular or joint diseases (fibromyalgia or rheumatoid arthritis)
4. whiplash-associated disorders
5. neurological disorders
6. psychiatric disorders
7. any allergy to the substances used

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Crossover Assignment

Masking: Triple Blind

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30 participants in 3 patient groups

Dark Chocolate

Active Comparator group

Treatment:

Other: after - hypertonic saline 5%

Other: before - hypertonic saline 5%

Milk Chocolate

Active Comparator group

Treatment:

Other: after - hypertonic saline 5%

Other: before - hypertonic saline 5%

White Chocolate

Active Comparator group

Treatment:

Other: after - hypertonic saline 5%

Other: before - hypertonic saline 5%