Flexible Attention Sensory Training for Youth with Chronic Pain

Flexible Attention Sensory Training for Youth with Chronic Pain: a Feasibility and Acceptability Study

The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility and acceptability of gamified sensory rehabilitation training technology for children with chronic musculoskeletal pain.

The TrainPain devices allows patients with chronic pain to perform sensory rehabilitation training at home, in a gamified format. The system uses a temporary tactile discrimination task, which directly engages inhibitory functions of the somatosensory cortex. In this way, the game trains the brain's sensory system to be more precise. The technology's dual-probe system allows sensory stimuli to be delivered to multiple body locations, which trains patients to flexibly shift their attention towards and away from pain according to dynamic game-directed goals. The sensory training reduces hypervigilance towards painful body regions and enables flexible attention shifting to engage with daily goals. Last, the TrainPain system captures and quantifies performance over time, providing a breadth of intricate and precise data, thus allowing the research team to assess outcomes and mechanisms of training effects. In preliminary studies with adults, TrainPain is shown to be highly engaging, and effective at reducing pain in adults with widespread musculoskeletal (MSK) pain. The current pilot study intends to establish, for the first time, the feasibility and acceptability of using the TrainPain system among youth with chronic MSK pain.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis of musculoskeletal pain including chronic regional pain syndrome
• English speaking

Exclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis of neurological conditions such as seizures, cerebral palsy, developmental delay
• Severe affect disorders (e.g. severe depression/anxiety) from medical record review
• Chronic skin disease or topical allergies that would be worsened by the use of sensor tape