Can a single 2-Hour online session untangle shoulder pain beliefs?
NCT ID NCT07791784
First seen Aug 28, 2026 · Last updated Aug 28, 2026
Summary
This trial tests whether a single 2-hour online pain skills session, called Empowered Relief, can help adults with subacromial shoulder pain who are following a 12-week exercise program. Researchers want to know if the session reduces unhelpful thoughts and fears about pain, and whether it helps people complete more of their prescribed exercises. All 60 participants receive the same exercise program and the pain skills session, but the timing of the session is randomly assigned between day 10 and day 26. Participants answer daily questions about their pain expectations, actual pain, and exercise completion for 12 weeks.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Empowered Relief, a single 2-hour online pain skills session
- What this could lead to
- If it works, a brief online session could become a simple add-on to exercise programs for shoulder pain, helping people stay active and feel more in control.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage trial with 60 participants, so results may not apply broadly. The session is brief, and its effect on pain beliefs and exercise adherence may be modest or short-lived.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 60 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Aug 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 65 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Age 18 to 65 years, inclusive. * Shoulder pain for at least 3 months. * Sufficient Danish language proficiency to understand study information, follow instructions, and complete questionnaires. * Diagnosis of subacromial pain syndrome (SAPS), confirmed by either: * an existing clinical diagnosis provided by a referring clinician, or * a standardized study-based clinical examination with at least 3 of the following 5 tests positive: Painful Arc test, Empty Can (Jobe's) test, Neer's test, Hawkins-Kennedy test, and External Rotation Resistance test. * Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) score greater than 16. Exclusion Criteria: * Current regular use of strong analgesic medication, excluding over-the-counter medication. * Pregnancy. * Referral for postoperative shoulder rehabilitation. * Corticosteroid injection in the affected shoulder within the past 2 months. * Current fracture of the affected shoulder, radiographically verified. * Glenohumeral osteoarthritis in the affected shoulder, radiographically verified. * History of shoulder dislocation or subluxation in the affected shoulder. * Suspected labral lesion of the affected shoulder. * Suspected full-thickness rotator cuff tear. * Suspected frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis). * Presence of competing conditions that may explain the shoulder pain or interfere with participation, including but not limited to cancer, inflammatory rheumatic disease, neurological disorders, fibromyalgia, or severe psychiatric disease.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
10 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Ballerup Municipality
Ballerup Municipality, 2750, Denmark
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Copenhagen Municipality, Amager Rehabilitation Center
Copenhagen, 2300, Denmark
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Fredensborg Municipality
Kokkedal, 2980, Denmark
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Frederiksberg Municipality
Frederiksberg, 2000, Denmark
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Furesø Municipality
Værløse, 3500, Denmark
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Hvidovre Municipality
Hvidovre, 2650, Denmark
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Høje-Taastrup Municipality
Taastrup, 2630, Denmark
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Køge Municipality
Køge, 4600, Denmark
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Lolland Municipality
Maribo, 4930, Denmark
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Rødovre Municipality
Rødovre Municipality, 2610, Denmark
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Can the room you rehab in change how your shoulder heals?
- Unstable weights may change how athletes with shoulder pain move
- Can tape and buzzes beat shoulder pain? new study hopes to find out
- Zapping the brain while exercising shoulder: new hope for pain relief?