Assessing Symptom and Mood Dynamics in Pain Using the Smartphone Application SOMA

This study uses a smartphone application called SOMA to track how pain intensity, mood, and daily symptoms fluctuate over time in real-world conditions. Rather than relying on infrequent clinic visits, the app captures repeated 'snapshots' of a participant's experience throughout the day and week. The study includes people with chronic pain (lasting more than 6 months), those with recent acute pain (from surgery, injury, or illness within the past 3 months), and healthy volunteers as a comparison group. All participants must be 18 or older, have a smartphone and internet access, and be able to communicate in English. Chronic pain participants must report significant pain intensity, interference, or distress. Healthy controls must have minimal pain and no history of chronic pain. An optional sub-study involving in-person EEG brain recordings is available for people with fibromyalgia, chronic low back pain, or no pain history. Those with active cancer, no smartphone access, or difficulty committing to the study are excluded. Participants will use the SOMA app to complete brief daily check-ins for up to four months. This research matters because understanding how pain fluctuates day to day — and how it links to mood — could fundamentally change how we measure, treat, and manage chronic pain in the future.