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Graded Motor Imagery for Primary Dysmenorrhea

30. maj 2026 opdateret af: Dr. Mehak Naeem

Effect of Graded Motor Imagery on Pressure Pain Threshold and Pain Intensity in Women With Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if graded motor imagery can reduce pain sensitivity and period pain in women with primary dysmenorrhea (painful periods with no medical cause).

The main questions it aims to answer are:

  1. Is there a decrease in pressure pain threshold (increased pain sensitivity) with graded motor imagery?
  2. Is the intensity of menstrual pain reduced by graded motor imagery?
  3. Is GMI helpful to reduce menstrual symptoms and pain catastrophizing (negative thinking about pain)?

Researchers will compare full GMI (active intervention), a sham GMI(inactive intervention), and a wait-list (no intervention) to see if GMI works better than the alternatives.

Participants will:

  1. Take part in a 6-week graded motor imagery program, sham program, or no intervention control.
  2. Do laterality recognition, motor imagery, and mirror therapy exercises in the graded motor imagery group.
  3. Complete pain and symptom assessments before and after the program, and again at follow-up.

Studieoversigt

Status

Rekruttering

Betingelser

Intervention / Behandling

Detaljeret beskrivelse

Women with primary dysmenorrhea have decreased pressure pain threshold (PPT) at local abdominal and lumbar sites and at remote sites (tibialis anterior). This is indicative of central sensitization, rather than just peripheral, prostaglandin-driven pain. This sensitization extends out of the menstrual window and is associated with increased pain catastrophizing (a cognitive-affective amplifier of central pain processing). All of these factors contribute to primary dysmenorrhea being an appropriate target for brain-directed intervention.

Graded Motor Imagery (GMI) is a three-phase physiotherapy program aimed at restoring the normal representation of pain in the cortex and reducing movement-related threat appraisal. Phases progress from implicit motor imagery using left/right body-part recognition tasks, followed by explicit mental rehearsal of pain-free movement. The third phase involves mirror therapy with visual feedback of normal movement. This sequenced approach targets the two measurable mechanisms underlying central sensitization in dysmenorrhea: altered pressure pain sensitivity and elevated pain catastrophizing. GMI has proven to be effective in complex regional pain syndrome, phantom limb pain, and genito-pelvic pain. However, it has not been specifically tested in primary dysmenorrhea.

This three-arm randomized controlled trial compares full GMI, sham GMI, and a wait-list control over six weeks of online-delivered sessions. The sham program is identical to GMI in terms of therapist contact time and structure of sessions, but employs non-pelvic imagery content (to control for non-specific effects of attention and engagement). The outcome is measured at baseline, 6 and 10 weeks by a blinded assessor.

Undersøgelsestype

Interventionel

Tilmelding (Anslået)

81

Fase

  • Ikke anvendelig

Kontakter og lokationer

Dette afsnit indeholder kontaktoplysninger for dem, der udfører undersøgelsen, og oplysninger om, hvor denne undersøgelse udføres.

Studiesteder

  • Pakistan
    • Punjab Province
      • Lahore, Punjab Province, Pakistan, 54782

Deltagelseskriterier

Forskere leder efter personer, der passer til en bestemt beskrivelse, kaldet berettigelseskriterier. Nogle eksempler på disse kriterier er en persons generelle helbredstilstand eller tidligere behandlinger.

Berettigelseskriterier

Aldre berettiget til at studere

  • Voksen

Tager imod sunde frivillige

Ingen

Beskrivelse

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Female sex (aged 18-30 years)
  2. Diagnosis of primary dysmenorrhea confirmed by a physician (painful menstruation for ≥6 consecutive cycles, in the absence of identifiable pelvic pathology on clinical and/or ultrasound evaluation)
  3. Pain ≥4/10 NRS experienced during the last period.
  4. Confirmed altered pressure pain threshold: PPT ≥2 standard deviations below published norms for age-matched healthy women, measured at baseline assessment
  5. Regular menstrual cycle (21-35 days)
  6. Capable of engaging in virtual video sessions and taking online tests.
  7. Consent to withhold new analgesic or hormonal treatments during the study period.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Secondary dysmenorrhea (endometriosis, adenomyosis, fibroids, pelvic inflammatory disease, ovarian cysts ≥3 cm confirmed on imaging)
  2. Current use of hormonal contraceptives (which alter prostaglandin levels and pain processing)
  3. Pregnancy or lactation
  4. Concurrent chronic pain condition (fibromyalgia, CRPS, chronic low back pain, chronic pelvic pain unrelated to menstruation)
  5. Neurological or psychiatric disorder that would impair motor imagery ability (stroke, schizophrenia, active psychosis)
  6. Cognitive impairment affecting informed consent capacity
  7. Participation in another clinical trial within 4 weeks before enrollment
  8. Previous exposure to graded motor imagery or mirror therapy
  9. Regular use of NSAIDs or opioids for non-menstrual indications

Studieplan

Dette afsnit indeholder detaljer om studieplanen, herunder hvordan undersøgelsen er designet, og hvad undersøgelsen måler.

Hvordan er undersøgelsen tilrettelagt?

Design detaljer

  • Primært formål: Behandling
  • Tildeling: Randomiseret
  • Interventionel model: Parallel tildeling
  • Maskning: Dobbelt

Våben og indgreb

Deltagergruppe / Arm
Intervention / Behandling
Eksperimentel: Graded Motor Imagery Protocol
Participants in this arm will be engaged in a 6-week graded motor imagery program, consisting of two supervised sessions per week and daily home practice. The intervention will have three phases: laterality recognition training with images of the pelvis and abdomen, explicit motor imagery of pain-free abdominal and pelvic movements, and mirror therapy/visual feedback with a mirror box to produce the illusion of normal and pain-free lower abdominal movement. A trained physiotherapist will deliver online sessions, and participants will complete about 15 minutes of home practice each day, which will be recorded in a diary.
Adfærdsmæssigt: Graded Motor Imagery (GMI)
The intervention will be a structured 6-week graded motor imagery program focused on the modulation of pain processing and sensorimotor representation in women with primary dysmenorrhea. It will consist of three sequential steps. Firstly, laterality recognition training with pelvic and abdominal body images. Secondly, explicit motor imagery with pain-free abdominal and pelvic movements. Finally, mirror therapy/visual feedback for normal pain-free movement. The program will be delivered online by a trained physiotherapist with two supervised sessions per week as well as daily home practice. This intervention is different from usual exercise or education because it mainly focuses on the cortical and sensorimotor mechanisms rather than only physical conditioning.
Sham-komparator: Sham Graded Motor Imagery

Participants in the sham group will undergo a program of the same amount of contact time as well as duration over 6 weeks with the same number of sessions. The sham intervention will consist of three phases. Sham laterality discrimination tasks will be performed with distal body parts only (e.g., hands and feet) and without pelvic content. Moreover, the sham general relaxation imagery will have peaceful scenes rather than body movement. Lastly, sham mirror exposure will be done by looking at a mirror showing the contralateral hand but not at the pelvic area.

The sham protocol aims to control non-specific effects of therapist contact, attention, and imagery engagement, and to remove the pelvic-specific cortical engagement as occurred in the active component of GMI.
Adfærdsmæssigt: Sham Graded Motor Imagery
The intervention will be a sham 6-week graded motor imagery program in which the participants will undergo a program of the same amount of contact time as well as duration over 6 weeks with the same number of sessions. The sham intervention will consist of three phases. Sham laterality discrimination tasks will be performed with distal body parts only (e.g., hands and feet) and without pelvic content. Moreover, the sham general relaxation imagery will have peaceful scenes rather than body movement. Lastly, sham mirror exposure will be done by looking at a mirror showing the contralateral hand but not at the pelvic area. The sham protocol aims to control non-specific effects of therapist contact, attention, and imagery engagement, and to remove the pelvic-specific cortical engagement as occurred in the active component of GMI.
Ingen indgriben: Wait-List Control
Participants in the wait-list group will receive no intervention throughout the 10-week study. They will be given standard written information regarding menstrual health and will be allowed to use analgesics as needed, which will be noted as a covariate.

Hvad måler undersøgelsen?

Primære resultatmål

Resultatmål
Foranstaltningsbeskrivelse
Tidsramme
Pain Pressure Threshold
Tidsramme: Baseline, post-intervention at 6 weeks, and 4-week follow-up.
Pressure pain threshold will be measured at local abdominal and lumbar sites, and at a remote site over the tibialis anterior muscle by using a handheld algometer. Three readings will be taken at each site and averaged. Higher values will indicate lower pain sensitivity.
Baseline, post-intervention at 6 weeks, and 4-week follow-up.
Menstrual pain intensity
Tidsramme: Baseline, 6 weeks post-intervention, and 4-week follow-up.
Menstrual pain intensity will be assessed using a Numeric Rating Scale during active menstruation. Participants will rate their pain on the days of menstrual pain, and the scores will be recorded for comparison over time. Higher scores will indicate greater pain intensity.
Baseline, 6 weeks post-intervention, and 4-week follow-up.

Sekundære resultatmål

Resultatmål
Foranstaltningsbeskrivelse
Tidsramme
Menstrual symptom severity
Tidsramme: Baseline, 6 weeks post-intervention, and 4-week follow-up.
Menstrual symptom severity will be measured using the Moos Menstrual Distress Questionnaire. This questionnaire assesses the severity of physical and emotional symptoms related to menstruation. Higher scores indicate more severe menstrual symptoms.
Baseline, 6 weeks post-intervention, and 4-week follow-up.
Pain Catastrophizing
Tidsramme: Baseline, 6 weeks post-intervention, and 4-week follow-up.
Pain catastrophizing will be measured using the Pain Catastrophizing Scale. This scale assesses exaggerated negative thoughts and feelings about pain. Higher scores indicate greater catastrophizing.
Baseline, 6 weeks post-intervention, and 4-week follow-up.

Samarbejdspartnere og efterforskere

Det er her, du vil finde personer og organisationer, der er involveret i denne undersøgelse.

Sponsor

Dr. Mehak Naeem

Samarbejdspartnere

University of Health Sciences Lahore

Datoer for undersøgelser

Disse datoer sporer fremskridtene for indsendelser af undersøgelsesrekord og resumeresultater til ClinicalTrials.gov. Studieregistreringer og rapporterede resultater gennemgås af National Library of Medicine (NLM) for at sikre, at de opfylder specifikke kvalitetskontrolstandarder, før de offentliggøres på den offentlige hjemmeside.

Studer store datoer

Studiestart (Faktiske)

6. april 2026

Primær færdiggørelse (Anslået)

1. august 2026

Studieafslutning (Anslået)

1. august 2026

Datoer for studieregistrering

Først indsendt

23. maj 2026

Først indsendt, der opfyldte QC-kriterier

23. maj 2026

Først opslået (Faktiske)

1. juni 2026

Opdateringer af undersøgelsesjournaler

Sidste opdatering sendt (Faktiske)

2. juni 2026

Sidste opdatering indsendt, der opfyldte kvalitetskontrolkriterier

30. maj 2026

Sidst verificeret

1. maj 2026

Mere information

Begreber relateret til denne undersøgelse

Nøgleord

Andre undersøgelses-id-numre

  • UHS/DUGS-26/1959

Plan for individuelle deltagerdata (IPD)

Planlægger du at dele individuelle deltagerdata (IPD)?

INGEN

IPD-planbeskrivelse

Individual participant data will not be shared owing to the confidentiality of study participants as well as the institutional restrictions. De-identified data may be available upon request to the corresponding author after getting institutional's approval.

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Kliniske forsøg med Primær dysmenoré (PD)

Kliniske forsøg med Graded Motor Imagery (GMI)

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