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Stepped-Care Intervention of Music and Imagery to Assess Relief (SCIMITAR) Trial

Who can join

Ages 18 and older · All sexes

Inclusion Criteria:

* musculoskeletal pain in the low back, cervical spine, or extremities (hips, knees, or shoulders) for ≥ 3 months
* at least moderate pain severity, defined as a PEG score ≥ 4 on a 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain)
* access to computer, tablet, or smartphone
* ability to pass a technology assessment

Exclusion Criteria:

* Past month hospitalization for medical or psychiatric illness
* housing insecurity
* suicidal ideation with current intent/plan
* hearing or cognitive impairment that may interfere with music listening or abstract thinking needed for imagery work
* currently receiving music therapy services

About the study

Th Stepped-Care Intervention of Music and Imagery to Assess Relief (SCIMITAR) Trial. SCIMITAR builds on our pilot study, the Feasibility and Acceptability of Music Imagery and Listening Interventions for Analgesia (FAMILIA), which demonstrated that telehealth delivery of music listening (ML) and music imagery (MI) interventions is feasible and acceptable to Veterans with chronic musculoskeletal pain. SCIMITAR leverages what we learned from FAMILIA into a fully powered trial, harnessing the benefits of sequential ML and MI into a stepped-care, music therapy intervention via telehealth for Veterans needing relief from pain.

What is being tested

• Stepped-care (behavioral)

Sponsor: Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine · Participants: 180 · Started: Aug 30, 2023

Contact the study team

• Sara M Kass, MD · Phone: 240-463-2600
• Marianne Spevak, BSHS · Phone: 240-694-2067

Official record on ClinicalTrials.gov — NCT07217821

Locations in the U.S.

Conditions

• Chronic Pain
• Musculoskeletal Pain

From ClinicalTrials.gov, data retrieved Sep 30, 2026. Each study sets its own eligibility; the study team decides who can join.