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Active, Not Recruiting

NCT Number: NCT06993272

Relaxation Music for Chronic Pain

Chronic pain is a common complaint in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Compounding these concerns, opioid analgesics are frequently used to treat severe acute pain. An estimated 30% of chronic pain patients due to IBD report opioid use. Those who continue to use opioids can develop opioid misuse, and opioid misuse portends addiction and overdose so there is a need for better, non-addictive treatment options.

Music interventions effectively reduce pain and pain-related symptomology. Meta-analytic results indicate listening to music can reduce acute and chronic pain. Music listening also decreases emotional distress from pain as well as the use of pain medication. Music interventions have demonstrated these positive effects on pain across a number of settings, including surgical, in-patient, and community settings. Importantly, due to the ubiquity of music - especially freely available online music - music interventions are easily accessible and highly scalable.

Active, Not Recruiting

This study is active but is not currently recruiting participants.

Key information

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of California Irvine

Orange, California, 92868, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

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

Inclusion criteria

  • 18 or older
  • Living in U.S.
  • Have a pain rating related to IBS, Crohn's, or Colitis of five or greater in average pain on a 0-10 numeric rating scale in the preceding week
  • Have had pain related to IBS, Crohn's, or Colitis for at least 3 months and for at least 15 days in the preceding 30 days
  • GAD Score (Moderate to Severe Anxiety)

Exclusion criteria

  • Are currently using or have used prescription opioids in the past 3 months
  • Have a current cancer diagnosis
  • In one of our prior music studies
  • Have formal experience with mindfulness

Treatment and study plan

MIndful Jazz

Behavioral

Mindful Jazz Group: Participants in this group will watch an introduction to jazz appreciation and mindfulness training video, including the use of jazz for pain tolerance prior to the 4-week intervention. Participants in the Mindful Jazz Group will be informed that listening to music they are not comfortable with (i.e., jazz) can enhance long-term pain tolerance.

Reggae Stereotypes

Behavioral

Reggae Stereotype Group: Participants in this group will be told about he stereotype of reggae in making people more calm. They will listen to reggae music over the 4 weeks.

Traditional Mindfulness

Behavioral

Participants will listen to a traditional mindfulness practice over the 4 weeks

Pain Psychoeducation

Behavioral

Participants listen to an audio recording of the pain psychoeducation video they watch during training over the 4 weeks. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azwEQXh5enA

Primary outcomes

  1. Pain, Enjoyment, General Activity Scale (PEG)

    Time frame: Baseline and 4 weeks

    Pain Intensity:

    Measure: The PEG scale will be used to assess the magnitude of pain sensations experienced by participants in the past week.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of California, Irvine

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Relaxation Music for Patients With Chronic Pain From IBS, Crohn's, or Colitis

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
May 28, 2025
Registry last updated
Feb 2, 2026

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.

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