Digital Interactive Media for Chronic Low Back Pain Management: A Feasibility Study

Chronic pain is common and is associated with significant costs and suffering. Therapeutic hypnosis has shown promise as an effective chronic pain treatment, but access to this intervention is extremely limited. Digital applications that offer therapeutic hypnosis, if found to be effective, could address this access problem. The primary aim of the current paper is to describe the results of two studies (Study 1 = individuals with low back pain; Study 2 = individuals with mixed chronic pain conditions) conducted to evaluate the feasibility of the digital hypnosis interactive media application for providing therapeutic hypnosis. Fifty participants in both studies were randomly assigned to one of two groups: (1) 8 weeks of access to the application or (2) 4 weeks of no access followed by 4 weeks of access. Five feasibility and eight clinical outcomes were assessed. The findings indicate that the application is feasible, and that additional work to develop and evaluate the application is warranted. Both studies were prospectively registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT06050083).