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Many people like a little kick to their dish, whether that’s through hot sauce or some other type of spicy ingredient. But can a fiery sensation help treat chronic pain?

A possible method for understanding chronic pain better could be through capsaicin, an irritant from hot chili peppers that produces a burning sensation, according to Dr. Claudia Campbell, Ph.D., associate professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at The Johns Hopkins University.

By focusing on the scorching feeling from capsaicin, your brain might “forget” what is causing you pain, whether that be arthritis, nerve damage or back problems.

“[The study is] not about improving pain,” Campbell said. “It’s about giving a different sensation other than the pain people have in the clinical condition.”

Campbell is looking for 60 participants, ages 33 to 65, to volunteer for the randomized, double-blind study. They must have a pain level of at least two on a scale of one to 10.

However, people with fibromyalgia and autoimmune diseases cannot participate, along with those who took any opioid, gabapentin or tramadol within the last month.

Participants must attend four sessions in downtown Baltimore that last from two to four hours each. These sessions include a general screening, an MRI brain scan, an X-ray and two PET (positron emission tomography) brain imaging scans. The study is funded by the National Institutes of Health.

A hot chili pepper cream will be applied to the back of participants’ hands during two out of the four sessions to see how the brain processes different sensations.

Chronic pain affected around 20% of U.S. adults in 2016, according to a CDC study in 2018. The medical condition also contributes $560 billion annually in medical costs, lost productivity and disability programs.

“Chronic pain is really a challenging thing because so many [aspects] influence how people experience pain,” Campbell said.

Since people react differently to the consumption of hot chili peppers, Campbell supposes the same variety of responses within the brain will occur when topically applied.

Participants will receive up to $300 in compensation, including free parking and transportation to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, 4940 Eastern Ave., Baltimore. To learn more or volunteer, call (410) 550-6165.