Can your phone predict chronic pain? new study investigates
NCT ID NCT05754190
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026
Summary
This study uses a smartphone app called SOMA to track daily mood, pain, and activity in 800 people with acute or chronic pain over four months. The goal is to find patterns that predict whether acute pain becomes chronic, or if chronic pain flares up. A smaller group will also have an EEG session to look at brain activity. This is an observational study, not a treatment trial.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- SOMA pain manager smartphone application
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could help identify early warning signs of chronic pain development or flare-ups, leading to better pain management strategies.
- What could go wrong
- This is an observational study using self-reported data, so results may not be generalizable. The app-based tracking may have low long-term engagement.
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
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About 800 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jun 2023
- Expected to finish
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May 2026
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.
Who is studied
Any person who fits the eligibility criteria for acute pain, chronic pain, or healthy control groups will be eligible to participate in the general parent study. Healthy controls or participants who have a diagnosis of chronic low back pain, failed back surgery syndrom or fibromyalgia are eligible to participate in the in-person EEG sub-study. Participants will be recruited from around Rhode Island and surrounding regions via online ads, listserv announcements, local healthcare clinics, rehab and nursing facilities, word of mouth, social media, and targeted newspaper/magazine/public transportation advertisements. Chronic pain participants eligible for the in-person EEG testing will be recruited via these methods as well as targeted recruitment with physicians treating these patients.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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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 \[General study\] * Chronic pain group: * Age above 18 * Access to a personal smartphone and a stable internet connection * Average pain intensity score of greater than 3 in the past week or * Average pain interference score of greater than 3 in the past week or * Average pain distress score of greater than 3 in the past week * Pain duration: greater than 6 months * Acute pain group: * Age above 18 * Access to a personal smartphone and a stable internet connection * Average pain intensity score of greater than 3 in the past week ○ or * Average pain interference score of greater than 3 in the past week ○ or * Average pain distress score of greater than 3 in the past week * Pain duration: less than 3 months * Pain cause: Due to recent surgery, injury, acute illness, or childbirth (within the past 3 months) * Healthy control group: * Age above 18 * Access to a personal smartphone and a stable internet connection * Average pain intensity score of less than 3 in the past week * Average pain interference score of less than 3 in the past week * Average pain distress score of less than 3 in the past week * No surgery, injury, acute illness, or childbirth (within the past 3 months) * In person EEG testing \[Sub-Study only\]: * Same as in General App Study Above and additionally: * Current diagnosis of Fibromyalgia, Chronic Low Back Pain or Failed Back Surgery Syndrome OR * No current or prior history of chronic pain * If participant has chronic low back pain or failed back surgery syndrome: are they planning to have either a radio-frequency ablation, back surgery, or spinal cord stimulation implant in the next few months * If participant has chronic low back pain or failed back surgery syndrome: have they received insurance approval for the procedure? * Ok with EEC/ECG measures EXCLUSION CRITERIA \[General study\] * Chronic pain group: * recent injury or surgery unrelated to the pain in the past 3 months * difficulty participating for technical/logistical issues (e.g., no computer, incompatible smartphone, can't commit to 4 months study participation); * Not fluent in English (difficulty understanding questions) * Current primary or metastatic cancer (organic cause of pain) * Acute pain group: * History of Chronic Pain (Pain lasting for more than 6 months) * difficulty participating for technical/logistical issues (e.g., no computer, incompatible smartphone, can't commit to 4 months study participation); * Not fluent in English (difficulty understanding questions) * Current primary or metastatic cancer (organic cause of pain) * Healthy control group: History of Chronic Pain (Pain lasting for more than 6 months) * difficulty participating for technical/logistical issues (e.g., no computer, incompatible smartphone, can't commit to 4 months study participation); * Not fluent in English (difficulty understanding questions) -In person EEG testing \[Sub-study only\]: \[will interfere with EEG data collection safety or quality\]: * Same as in General App Study Above and additionally: * Baldness * Pregnancy * Dreadlocks * Left-handedness * Use of a wheelchair * Heart failure diagnosis * Current or prior experience with acute psychosis or mania * implanted pacemaker, neurostimulator or any other head or heart implants * require a hearing aid to hear properly * claustrophobia * metal fragments in the body
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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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Brown University
RECRUITINGProvidence, Rhode Island, 02912, United States
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