The project is a collaboration between Gunnvald Kvarstein, MD, Ph.D., Professor Department of Clinical Medicine and the Pain Clinic UNN, Thomas Weiss, Ph.D. Professor for Biological and Clinical Psychology and Christian Puta, Ph.D. Institute of Sports Medicine, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany, and Martha Menard, PhD, Vancouver, Canada.
The aim of the project is to explore "component effect" and "biological mechanisms" of non-pharmacological therapies against back and neck pain. Quantitative Sensory Testing is used as a biomarker in this study. In the first study, the effects of massage and relaxation against neck pain were investigated. The design was a randomized, controlled feasibility pilot study. Patients were randomized to one of the two study conditions. The same therapist provided both treatment measures, however massage includes touching and manipulating the skin and deeper layers, and relaxation gives the same attention to the patients without touch.
With this study, we want to understand the causes of pain better and how different therapies may have effect. The study uses quantitative sensory testing (QST) as a biomarker to explore possible biological mechanisms that are the cause of pain relief.
Project leader: Frauke Musial
