Experiences of Pain in Healthy Adults

NCT ID: NCT06611267

Last Updated: 2025-09-23

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 64 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2025-02-07
• Study Completion Date: 2025-04-01

Brief Summary

The experiment aims to investigate the experience of pain in healthy adults and includes a total of 60 participants. Pain is a subjective experience that has a complicated neurological and psychological basis. Around 20% of the Danish population suffers from persistent pain, which has both personal and societal consequences. Personal consequences include, among others, reduced quality of life, loss of social life and risk of anxiety and depression. However, more knowledge is needed about which mechanisms are involved in the experience of pain, so that the treatment of patients with pain can be improved.

In the experiment, healthy participants will be inflicted with a tolerable pain on their forearm using a thermode. The application of heat causes pain for a short, limited period, but it is tolerable and without risks. During the experiment, the participants will be exposed to heat several times, with and without a cream on their forearm. It is a cream that has previously proved to have pain-relieving effects on participants in similar experiments. Participants will be asked about how they experience the intensity of the pain on a scale of 1-10 (0 = no pain and 10 = worst imaginable pain), and what they expect the pain intensity will be, also on a 1-10 scale. The participants are allowed to pause or stop the experiment anytime.

The experiment contributes to insights into pain and the mechanisms involved. This knowledge can in the future contribute with knowledge to improve the treatment of patients with pain. For the individual participant, the trial will contribute with knowledge about how they experience and assess pain themselves.

Conditions

Pain in Healthy Adults

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: FACTORIAL
• Primary Study Purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Participants assess their experienced pain

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Pain without cream on

Intervention Type: OTHER

Participants will be inflicted with pain without cream on.

Pain with cream on

Intervention Type: OTHER

Patients are inflicted with pain after getting a cream on, which has previously had pain-relieving effects

Participants assess their expected and experienced pain

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Pain without cream on

Intervention Type: OTHER

Participants will be inflicted with pain without cream on.

Pain with cream on

Intervention Type: OTHER

Patients are inflicted with pain after getting a cream on, which has previously had pain-relieving effects

Interventions

Pain without cream on

Participants will be inflicted with pain without cream on.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Pain with cream on

Patients are inflicted with pain after getting a cream on, which has previously had pain-relieving effects

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Normal health, i.e. no known acute or chronic illness
• Fluid in Danish

Exclusion Criteria

• Chronic pain condition
• Other medical or psychiatric disorder
• Use of antidepressants
• Daily use of painkillers
• Use of pain medication 24 hours prior to testing
• Drug abuse
• Pregnancy
• Studying or with completed education in psychology or journalism

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 65 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

University of Aarhus

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Locations

Aarhus University

Aarhus C, , Denmark

Countries

Denmark

Other Identifiers

EXPERIENCES OF PAIN

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id