NIH launches massive pain study to unravel mysteries of discomfort
NCT ID NCT02707029
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Sep 17, 2026 · Updated 15 times
Summary
This study aims to better understand pain by testing how people with and without pain disorders respond to various sensations like heat, cold, pressure, and sounds. Researchers will use questionnaires, physical exams, MRI scans, and sensory tests to gather detailed information. The goal is to learn more about pain and to find volunteers who may be eligible for future pain research studies at NIH.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this study could help researchers better understand different types of pain and identify people for future pain treatment studies.
- What could go wrong
- This is an observational study, not a treatment trial. It will not directly test any new therapy or provide a cure.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Participants
-
About 10,000 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
-
Jul 2016
- Expected to finish
-
Feb 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
-
A government research agency
The lead sponsor is the US National Institutes of Health.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
Who is studied
Participants with or without pain disorders.
- Ages
-
12 to 120 years
- Sex
-
Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
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: * Are \>= 12 years of age EXCLUSION CRITERIA: * Have difficulties with communication that make subjective pain assessment impossible or unreliable. * Have acute medical or psychiatric health issues that create additional and substantial adverse risks related to study procedures. Medical examples are the acute complications of medical disease, such as asymptomatic hypertensive urgency, diabetic ketoacidosis, symptomatic hyperthyroidism, and unstable angina. Psychiatric examples are the acute complications of psychiatric disease, such as acute mania, paranoid delusions, or having acute panic attacks. * Are participating in other ongoing research protocols such that phenotypic measurements would interfere with the conduct of an ongoing protocols or the receipt of a research treatment would influence the phenotypic measurements. * Employees or staff that work at NCCIH. * Pregnant women
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Normal physiology are added.
Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
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.
-
The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
-
The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
-
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
-
National Institutes of Health Clinical Center
RECRUITINGBethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Five simple signs could help nurses score surgical pain in turkish
- Can green light glasses take the sting out of surgery?
- Can a Hands-On nerve technique ease Fibromyalgia's grip?
- Fixing broken ribs with surgery may cut pain better than drugs alone
- Could a Patient's playlist take the sting out of nerve testing?
- Scientists probe the mental steps behind rating your pain