Pain Neuroscience Education in Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain

Pain Neuroscience Education as a Complement to Physiotherapy in Patients With Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: a Non-randomized Controlled Trial

Chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP) is highly prevalent, disabling and with high socio-economic costs, with many negative effects on quality of life. CMP affects the ability to perform work, social, recreational and domestic tasks by changing the mood and concentration of this population that suffers. In a study carried out in 2010, 17% of the Spanish population had experienced pain in the last month and according to the severity of symptoms 12% felt severe , 64% moderate and 24% mild pain. In this same study it is specified that 61% was due to back pain, 29% due to neck pain and 23% due to shoulder pain. Pain neuroscience education (PNE) has been shown as an effective treatment strategy in increasing knowledge and understanding of neurobiology, neurophysiology and pain processing, modifying beliefs about it, improving patient skills and encouraging to the accomplishment of physical and social activities in different chronic pathologies.

Study design and setting: The design of the present study will be a quasi-experimental study with 2 follow-ups (one month and four months after intervention) that will be performed between Apr 2018 and Apr 2020 in public health system in Malaga, Spain. The outcomes will be assessed at baseline (t0), one month (t1) and four months after the physiotherapy treatment begins (t2). Written informed consent will be acquired for all participants prior to their participation.

Pain neuroscience education (PNE) can be defined as an educational session or sessions describing the neurobiology and neurophysiology of pain, and pain processing by the nervous system. It will be applied one time (at baseline). Physiotherapy includes kinesitherapy and exercises.

Physiotherapy cover kinesitherapy and exercises techniques. Besides that it will be covered the understanding and acknowledgement about how pain is processed.

Inclusion Criteria: Age between 18-65 years Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain according to the ACCTION-APS Pain Taxonomy (AAPT), included chronic axial musculoskeletal low back pain Exclusion Criteria: Chronic postoperative musculoskeletal pain and chronic musculoskeletal pain related to a traumatic injury six months before the beginning of the trial Inability to provide written informed consent and/or complete questionnaires in Spanish.