Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) in a Specialist Pain Clinic: A Feasibility Study

Brief summary (from the registry)

Long-term pain, which is pain that lasts for more than three months, is a major health problem. It can severely impact a person's physical and mental well-being, quality of life, and ability to work. It also carries high costs for society, mainly due to high rates of sick leave. For many people with long-term pain, there is no clear injury or disease that fully explains why it hurts. In these cases, the pain is believed to be caused by how the brain and nervous system process pain signals. This is sometimes called "nociplastic pain." Even though there are many treatments for pain-like medications and therapies-they don't work for everyone, and many people are left without meaningful relief. Because of this, it is important to find and test new ways to treat pain. In this study, the investigators evaluate a relatively new psychological treatment called Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT), which has been tested in the US with promising results. PRT helps individuals with chronic pain to understand and change how they think about their pain by explaining how the brain works. The treatment focuses on teaching the difference between acute (new) pain and long-term pain. It also involves exercises to help people alter emotions related to their pain. A key part of the treatment is a technique where patients practice paying attention to what is happening in their bodies in a safe, relaxed way. The goal is to teach the brain that the pain signals are not a threat. This can help break the vicious cycle of fear, avoiding activities, and worsening pain. While many people are interested in treatments like PRT, it hasn't yet been tested in specialized care for patients with complex pain. This trial is a pilot study-a smaller, initial investigation to evaluate how well the treatment works in a clinical setting, and to determine if both patients and therapists find it acceptable and practical to use. This will give us important information to help prepare for larger studies in the futur…

Study details

Official title

Breaking the Pain Cycle: Implementing a Novel Neuroscience-based Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain in a Pain Rehabilitation Setting

Conditions

• Chronic Pain

Interventions

• Behavioral: Pain Reprocessing Therapy

Sponsor

Karolinska Institutet

Collaborators

Region Stockholm

Start date

2026-08

Primary completion

2027-07

Sex

All

Age range

from 18 Years

Results posted

No results posted in this snapshot

Countries

Sweden

Total sites listed

1

Eligibility criteria