Effects of Motor Imagery and Action Observation Training on Pain Perception in Patients With Chronic Neck Pain

Effects of Motor Imagery and Action Observation Training on Pain Perception in Patients With Chronic Neck Pain

Effects of Motor Imagery and Action Observation Training on Pain Perception in Patients With Chronic Neck Pain

This study evaluates the influence of motor imagery or action observation training on pain perception in patients with chronic neck pain. Perception of pain will be measured by the pain pressure threshold. A group of patients will receive an action observation training of neck movements, another will receive a protocol of motor imagery of the same movements and the last group will be a placebo group, through the viewing of a documentary video.

Motor imagery is defined as a dynamic mental process of an action, without its real motor execution. Action observation training consists of watching an action performed by someone else. Both motor imagery and action observation have been shown to produce a neurophysiological activation of the brain areas related to the planning and execution of voluntary movement in a manner that resembles how the action is performed in reality. Both motor imagery and action observation are interventions that can generate adaptive neuroplastic changes on a cortical level, leading to a decrease in chronic pain. These rehabilitation techniques are used in pain treatment and impaired movement injuries that could be due to a nervous system alteration. The effectiveness of motor imagery is controversial; several studies have presented unfavorable outcomes from this technique. Some variables, such as the duration of the sessions, the time employed the type of motor task or the number of sessions can influence the outcomes of these studies. Thus, it is necessary to clarify the controversial aspects of motor imagery, which lead us to perform this study.

This group receives an action observation training through the visualization of a video of cervical movements.

This group receives a placebo action observation training through the visualization of a video of a documentary video

Pressure Pain Threshold (PPT) is one of these tests and it is defined as the minimum force applied which induces pain. The measurement shall be carried out by using an algometer (pressure device that induces mechanical stimuli) is to standardize the amount of pressure applied in the neck region. The reliability of pressure pain thresholds according to raters or measurement frequencies is relatively high

Visual and Kinesthetic Motor Imagery Ability will be measured with Movement Imagery Questionnaire-Revised (MIQ-R). MIQ-R has four movements repeated in two subscales, a visual and a kinesthetic one. Additionally, a score between 1 and 7 is assigned, with 1 representing difficulty in picturing the motor image or difficulty in feeling the movement previously made, and 7 representing the maximum ease. The internal consistencies of the MIQ-R have been consistently adequate with Cronbach's α coefficients ranging above 0.84 for the total scale, 0.80 for de visual subscale and 0.84 for the kinesthetic subscale (Campos & González, 2010).

The degree of physical activity was objectified through the The International Physical Activity Questionnaire questionnaire, which allows the subjects to be divided into three groups according to their level of activity, which can be high, moderate, and low or inactive

With the task of recognition of the neck's laterality, two aspects will be evaluated: first, the precision (percentage of correct answers) of the discrimination of the laterality which is the capacity to recognize if a part of the body belongs to the right or left and second, the response time that the participants use in the task of discrimination or cognitive judgment. The app designed and developed by the NOI group will be used.

The Spanish version of the pain catastrophizing scale (PCS) assesses the degree of pain catastrophizing. The PCS has 13 items and a 3-factor structure of rumination, magnification, and helplessness.

Fear of movement or kinesiophobia will be quantified with the Spanish version of the Kinesiophobia Tampa Scale (TSK-11). This instrument demonstrates reliability and validity in patients with chronic pain, being shorter than the original scale. The total score ranges from 11 to 44 points, with the highest scores indicating greater fear of a new injury due to movement

Inclusion Criteria: Men and women aged between 18 and 65 years Medical diagnosis of non specific chronic neck pain with more than 6 months of evolution of neck pain Exclusion Criteria: Patients with rheumatic diseases, cervical hernia, cervical whiplash syndrome, neck surgeries o a history of arthrodesis Systemic diseases Vision, hearing or vestibular problems Severe trauma or a traffic accident that had an impact on the cervical area.