Physical Therapy to Treat Chronic Pain in Survivors of Trauma
Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT03933189. Field values are reproduced from the official study page; the official ClinicalTrials.gov record remains the source of truth for eligibility, enrollment, and contact information.
Data is sourced from official ClinicalTrials.gov public API records. Always review the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for the latest information.
Official title
Physical Therapy for Individuals With Chronic Pain Due to Physical and/or Emotional Trauma: A Comparison of Physical Therapy Interventions
Brief summary
Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.
This study will assess the effects of physical therapy (PT) for individuals who are survivors of trauma (SOT) and have chronic pain. While much has been studied about the psychological effects and treatment of trauma, little is known about the PT management of chronic pain and loss of function SOT experience. With over 24 million people in the U.S. suffering from chronic pain there are potentially high numbers of individuals living with resultant disability associated with that pain. Physical therapists are well versed in treating pain and restoring function. However, choice of PT can vary based on therapist years of experience and type or lack of PT specialization. Physical therapy has traditionally focused on a bio-medical (BIOM) approach. Some believe that the BIOM approach is ineffective in reducing chronic pain and functional loss, and that PT requires a biopsychosocial (BPS) approach, targeting central nervous system changes that occur with chronic pain. Pain education (PE) and Graded Motor Imagery (GMI) are PT interventions thought to address these brain changes, and are used by physical therapists to treat patients with phantom limb pain and Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. Most of the studies examining the effects of GMI and PE have methodological issues. Exercise is another common PT treatment and is beneficial in promoting improved function and decreasing disability for many conditions. Although PTs in clinical practice can offer all of these modalities, there is little high quality evidence to support the choice among them. This study will compare two varieties of PT: BIOM-based versus BPS-based care. Individuals with chronic pain who are referred to PT by their primary care provider or self-referred will be screened for trauma history by the PI. SOT who are seen at a community psychology center who experience chronic pain and disability will be referred to PT. Upon referral, SOT who meet the inclusion criteria will be invited to participate. SOT who consent to the study will be randomized to either the BIOM-based or the BPS-based group. All participants will undergo baseline assessment. Participants will complete 6 one-hour PT sessions once a week following their randomly assigned plan. All baseline measures will be repeated by the blinded assessor after the 6th visit; scores will be assessed to determine if there is a difference in the change in functional outcomes between the BIOM- and BPS-based groups after completion of the 6 PT sessions.
Study identification
- NCT ID
- NCT03933189
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Not applicable
- Enrollment
- 98 participants
Conditions and interventions
Conditions
Eligibility (public fields only)
- Age range
- 18 Years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Healthy volunteers not accepted
This page does not interpret eligibility. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are on the official ClinicalTrials.gov record.
Study timeline
- Start date
- Jun 17, 2019
- Primary completion
- Jul 29, 2021
- Completion
- Jul 29, 2021
- Last update posted
- Sep 28, 2021
2019 – 2021
United States locations
- U.S. sites
- 1
- U.S. states
- 1
- U.S. cities
- 1
| Facility | City | State | ZIP | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dee Physical Therapy | South Burlington | Vermont | 05403 | — |
Site contact phone numbers, emails, and investigator names are intentionally not displayed here. Open the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for site contact information.
About this trial record page
- What this page shows
- Public field values for ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT03933189, including study identification, conditions, interventions, eligibility (age, sex, healthy volunteer), timeline, and U.S. site list.
- What this page does not do
- No medical advice, eligibility judgments, treatment recommendations, study quality scoring, or AI-generated medical summaries. No site contact phone numbers, emails, or investigator names.
- Where the data comes from
- Sourced from the official ClinicalTrials.gov public API. The official record is the source of truth.
- Last refresh
- Last update posted Sep 28, 2021 · Synced Sep 5, 2026
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Open the official record
The complete protocol, eligibility criteria, and contact information for NCT03933189 live on ClinicalTrials.gov.