Motivational Interviewing in Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Motivational Interviewing, Home Exercise Program.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. Basic parameters: 18 years — 65 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Turkey (Türkiye)
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Official title
The Effect of Motivational Interviewing on Thoracic Outlet Syndrome Symptoms in Patients With Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
Overview
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if motivational interviewing (MI) works to improve symptoms in people with thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS). TOS is a condition that causes long-term pain, numbness, and weakness in the arm and shoulder area. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does MI lower pain and improve arm function in people with TOS? * Does psychological resilience predict treatment outcomes in people with TOS? Researchers will compare participants who receive MI sessions plus a home exercise program to those who receive a home exercise program alone. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of the two groups. Participants will: * Follow a home exercise program for 6 weeks * Some participants will also attend up to 4 motivational interviewing sessions * Complete questionnaires about pain, function, sleep, anxiety, and depression at the start and end of the 6-week program
Detailed description
This is a single-center, non-blinded (assessor-blinded), parallel-group study examining the effect of motivational interviewing (MI) as an adjunct to a standardized home exercise program in patients with thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS). Eligible participants are randomly assigned using block randomization (block size of 4) to either the experimental arm (home exercise plus MI) or the active comparator arm (home exercise alone). The randomization sequence is generated using an online randomization tool by an individual not otherwise involved in the study, ensuring allocation concealment.
MI sessions are structured around four core techniques: open-ended questioning, affirmations, reflective listening, and summarizing. Sessions proceed through engagement, agenda setting, evocation of change talk, and goal setting phases, using strategies such as exploring ambivalence, decisional balance exercises, and scaling questions to assess motivation and confidence for behavior change. Homework assignments tailored to each participant's goals may include relaxation exercises, breath awareness training, and emotion regulation strategies in addition to the standard home exercise program.
All outcome assessments are conducted by a physiotherapist who is blinded to group allocation and not otherwise involved in delivering the interventions. Assessments take place at baseline (prior to initiation of the home exercise program) and at week 6.
Interventions
- Behavioral Motivational Interviewing
A patient-centered counseling approach consisting of up to 4 face-to-face sessions delivered over 6 weeks. Sessions follow motivational interviewing (MI) principles, including collaborative engagement, open-ended questions, reflective listening, affirmations, and summarizing, to explore ambivalence and elicit change talk. Sessions address goal setting, decisional balance regarding behavior change, and strategies to support adherence to pain self-management and the home exercise program. - Behavioral Home Exercise Program
A standardized 6-week home exercise program taught face-to-face by a physiotherapist, including scalene and upper trapezius stretching (15 seconds per repetition), pectoralis minor stretching (15 seconds per repetition), median and ulnar nerve self-mobilization exercises, scapular stabilization exercises targeting the middle and lower trapezius and rhomboid muscles using elastic resistance bands, and diaphragmatic breathing training. The program is performed 3 times daily, 10 repetitions per exe
Primary outcome measures
- Pain Intensity (Visual Analog Scale) [Time frame: 6 weeks]
Secondary outcome measures (9)
- Upper Extremity Function (DASH Questionnaire) [Time frame: 6 weeks]
- Central Sensitization (Central Sensitization Inventory) [Time frame: 6 weeks]
- Kinesiophobia (Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia) [Time frame: 6 weeks]
- Depression, Anxiety and Stress (DASS-21) [Time frame: 6 weeks]
- Psychological Resilience (Brief Resilience Scale) [Time frame: 6 weeks]
- Pain Self-Efficacy (Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire) [Time frame: 6 weeks]
- Pain Coping (Pain Coping Inventory) [Time frame: 6 weeks]
- Sleep Quality (Jenkins Sleep Scale) [Time frame: 6 weeks]
- Anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory) [Time frame: 6 weeks]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome
- Age between 18 and 65 years
- Pain duration of more than 6 months
- No surgical intervention in the last 6 months
Exclusion criteria
- Accompanying pathologies (cervical disc problems, fibromyalgia, rotator cuff problems, diabetes, neoplastic processes)
- Unwillingness to provide informed consent
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: No
Study design
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Model
- Parallel assignment
- Masking
- Single blind
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
Study locations
Turkey (Türkiye) · 1 center
- Hacettepe University Faculty of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation — Ankara
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07668206 · FTREK26/38 · FTREK26/38