Could a headset and virtual therapy ease both pain and PTSD?
NCT ID NCT07116109
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether a 2-week, fully remote program combining mild brain stimulation (tDCS) with prolonged exposure therapy can reduce chronic pain and PTSD symptoms. About 146 adults with both conditions will receive either real or sham stimulation alongside therapy, all from home. Researchers will measure changes in pain intensity, PTSD severity, and blood markers of stress.
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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 146 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jul 2025
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2029
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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21 years and older
- 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: * Presence of musculoskeletal, chronic, non-cancer pain with a rating of ≥ 3 out of 10 on a 0-10 on the Defense and Veterans Pain Rating Scale (DVPRS) and a pain intensity and interference score of 1 standard deviation above PROMIS normative data (see Measures section below). Symptoms will be required to be of at least six months duration and verified diagnosis in their medical chart authorized by informed consent * Diagnosis of PTSD assigned on the basis of the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS-5) and PCL-5 ≥ 30 * willing to participate in study randomization, treatment assignment, and assessments. Exclusion Criteria: * Having a household member who is already enrolled in the study * Active psychosis or dementia at screening * Suicidal ideation with clear intent * Current substance dependence * current opioid medication for pain and/or current use of sodium channel blockers, calcium channel blockers, or N-Methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonists, because these medications can block tDCS effects * pregnancy and/or lactation * concurrent enrollment in another pain clinical trial * tDCS or medical related contraindications such as open-injury TBI (penetrating injury), seizure disorder (independently of the type of TBI or condition causing the seizure disorder), pregnancy, implanted metal, claustrophobia * having pain that is not chronic, presence of severe and frequent migraines, fibromyalgia, or pain caused by a primary condition such as cancer.
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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
1 site. 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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Charleston VA Healthcare System
RECRUITINGCharleston, South Carolina, 29401-5799, United States
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The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGHouston, Texas, 77030, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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