Evaluating the Efficacy of Intranasal Oxytocin on Chronic Pain (NCT04903002)
Evaluating the Efficacy of Intranasal Oxytocin on Pain and Function Among Individuals Who Experience Chronic Pain: A Multisite, Placebo-controlled, Blinded, Sequential, Within-subjects Crossover Trial
🩺 Plain-English Summary (8th-Grade Level)
One in five Canadians live with chronic pain, defined as pain that lasts longer than 3-months. Living with chronic pain has a detrimental impact on physical health, emotional health, and quality of life. Current treatments rarely result in pain relief and often do not meaningfully improve physical or emotional function. Further, medication used to treat pain often causes unwanted symptoms. There is a need to develop new treatments to help manage chronic pain. The use of a nasal spray containing manufactured oxytocin may improve pain management. Oxytocin is produced in the human body and has been shown to impact the pain pathway in animals. Our project tests whether the use of a nasal spray containing oxytocin will improve pain and function in men and women who live with chronic pain. Men and women with chronic nerve, muscle, or pelvic pain will be recruited in Vancouver, Calgary, and St. John's. Each person will be assigned to complete three interventions in a random order. Each intervention involves using a nasal spray twice per day over a 2-week period. The nasal spray will contain a small dose of oxytocin during one intervention and a medium dose during the second intervention. The nasal spray during the final intervention will have no oxytocin. This final intervention is a control intervention that will allow us to measure the effect of simply taking a nasal spray (i.e., the impact of expectation). Participants and researchers will not know which interventions involve the use of oxytocin. Participants will rate their pain and function each day throughout each task. The investigators will calculate each person's score on pain and function. The investigators will test whether participants report less pain and better function when they use oxytocin compared to the control. The results of this project may improve pain, function, and quality of life among those who live with chronic pain.
Who can join: Review the eligibility criteria below.
Location: Calgary Chronic Pain Centre — Calgary, Alberta
Age range: 18 Years
🧪 Interventions in This Study
📋 "Do I Qualify?" — 1-Minute Self Screener
Instant ChecklistFull eligibility criteria are available on the official NIH protocol. View the criteria ↗
📍 All Participating Trial Locations (3 Sites)
- Calgary Chronic Pain Centre — Calgary, Alberta
- Jim Pattison Outpatient Care & Surgical Centre Pain Clinic (JPOCSC-PC) — Surrey, British Columbia
- Carbonear General Hospital — Carbonear, Newfoundland and Labrador
💰 Cost, Insurance & Patient Rights
- 100% Free Items: The investigational treatment and protocol-required procedures are supplied at zero cost by the sponsor.
- Routine Patient Care: Under federal law (ACA § 2709) and many state statutes, routine care costs are covered during participation.
- Voluntary Participation: You may withdraw at any time without affecting your standard medical care.
More studies in Chronic Pain
- Chronic Pain Management In Primary Care Using Behavioral Health Consultants — Bethesda, Maryland
- Virtual Reality Treatment for Adults With Chronic Back Pain (VRNT) — Boulder, Colorado
- The Effect of Light Therapy on Chronic Pain — Tucson, Arizona
- Jazz Music and Mindfulness for Chronic Pain — Irvine, California
- Improving Pain Management Via Spinal Cord Stimulation and Blood Pressure Reduction — Kansas City, Kansas
- Retrospective PNS Study — Denver, Colorado
Explore by condition: All Chronic Pain clinical trials
💡 How to Participate
- Check the checklist above to see if you may qualify.
- Review the official NIH record below to find the coordinating site.
- Ask about the visit schedule, what is covered at no cost, and any travel support.
- Confirm with your own doctor before making a decision.