Just in TIME - Intervention With Dance and Yoga for Girls With Recurrent Abdominal Pain

Recurrent abdominal pain affects up to 37% of school-age children, mostly girls. These problems results in decreased quality-of-life, absence from school, lower sleep quality and increased health-care consumption. Long-term effects are lasting pain-symptoms and increased risk for psychiatric illness.

The scientific evidence for interventions towards long-term pain in children is limited and pharmacological treatment is not effective. Cognitive behavioral therapy has shown some effect but is time- and resource consuming. Dance and yoga can enhance positive protective factors through better body awareness and increased self-regulation. Relaxation in yoga also has positive effect on abdominal pain.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of an intervention with dance and yoga for girls, 9 to 13 years old, with recurrent abdominal pain. The participants will be identified through pediatric clinics in Örebro County, primary health care and school health care. They will be randomized to intervention with weekly dance- and yoga class for 8 months or control group with standard treatment. Primary outcome is the fraction of girls in each group who, direct after intervention, has decreased their maximum pain measured by Faces Pain Scale. Secondary outcomes are stress, psychical health, well-being, school and sleep functions, physical activity and health-economy. The study group will be followed up for two years.

Just-in-TIME is an interdisciplinary research group with expertise in interventions for psychosomatic problems in children and adolescents. TIME, which stands for Try, Identify, Move and Enjoy, also characterizes this project, aiming at decreasing recurrent abdominal pain through an intervention with dance and yoga for 9-13 year old girls.

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Key information

Conditions

Functional Abdominal Pain Abdominal Pain IBS Neurologic Manifestations Pain Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Signs and Symptoms Signs and Symptoms, Digestive

Age range

9 year–13 year

Sex eligibility

Female

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University health care research center, Region Örebro county

Örebro, 70116, Sweden

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Girls 9-13 years old as of pediatricians receive or have received the diagnosis functional abdominal pain or IBS according to the ROME III criteria and stating that they have persist symptoms for at least 2 months after completed investigation from pediatricians. Persistent symptoms are measured by pain diary at baseline and means that the girl at least once in the pain diary estimates 4 or higher as measured by the Faces Pain Scale (FPS-R).

Exclusion criteria

Simultaneous celiac disease or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Difficulties in following verbal instructions such as hearing impaired or mentally retarded.
Girls who are deemed to have such serious psychological symptoms that other treatment is required. All participants in the study, which estimates over 13 at the Children's Depression Screener (Child-S), will meet a psychologist / psychiatrist to assess whether they can participate in the study or have direct access to the Children and Youth psychiatry.
Children treated with CBT.

Treatment and study plan

Dance and yoga intervention

Other

Primary outcomes

Faces pain scale (FPS-R)

Time frame: Immediately after the intervention compared to the control group

Has the perceived abdominal pain decreased by a 8 months long intervention with regular dance and yoga for girls with recurrent abdominal pain, measured immediately after the intervention compared to the control group? The primary outcome is the proportion of girls in each group that have lowered their maximal abdominal pain measured by Faces Pain Scale (FPS-R).

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Anna Duberg

Other

Collaborators

Region Västmanland
Örebro University, Sweden

Registry information

Acronym: Just in TIME

Important dates

Study start: 2016
Primary completion: 2023
Study completion: 2023
First posted: Sep 30, 2016
Registry last updated: Apr 6, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.

Completed