Effects of Pain Neuroscience Education vs. Self-Management Education in Low Back Pain

Summary

Chronic low back pain interventions may include exercises, manual therapy, health education, and pain education, strategies based on psychological or behavioral change approaches, as well as biopsychosocial interventions. Pain self-management programs basically aim to engage the participant in activities, stimulating the patient to be more active in life and live despite the pain. However, pain neuroscience education is a new approach recognized as therapeutic patient education (ETP) and is best described as a form of cognitive rather than behavioral therapy. However, there are few studies in the literature comparing those types pain education. Thus, the purpose of this study will be to compare the immediate effects of an educational program focused on Pain Neuroscience Education vs. Pain self-management educations for patients with chronic low back pain considering the outcomes of pain intensity, catastrophizing and pain self-efficacy.

Conditions

• Chronic Low Back Pain

Interventions

OTHER

Pain Neuroscience Education

The PNE will be administered following Explaining Pain concepts, initially contextualizing the importance of the program, addressing concepts of neuroscience and pain, incorrect information about what is pain, how the brain responds to nociception in a variety of situations, and how an experience of danger can trigger or aggravate a state of pain, coexistence of several potential protection systems, central sensitization and how to promote behavioral change, abandoning incorrect beliefs, proposing graded activity exposure. In addition, participants were requested to perform a group of 7 exercises two times a week. In the day of the education session (second day), participants were again oriented on how to perform the exercises and invited to show the way they were executing them at home. In the first session, participants were trained on how to perform the abdominal bracing and oriented to repeat the maneuver in all exercises during the following three weeks.

OTHER

Self-Management Education

Concepts about pain, musculoskeletal pain, chronic pain and disability will be addressed. Participants will be guided on the process of chronic pain, associated suffering, conceptual model of fear-avoidance and clarified on avoidant and confronting profiles. In a third phase, strategies will be presented on how to deal with chronic pain, with advice on the harmful effects of restricting activities and the use of drug therapy in a careful way (Dupeyron et al, 2011). In addition, participants were requested to perform a group of 7 exercises two times a week. In the day of the education session (second day), participants were again oriented on how to perform the exercises (reinforcement) and invited to show the way they were executing them at home. In the first session, participants were trained on how to perform the abdominal bracing and oriented to repeat the maneuver in all exercises during the following three weeks.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Sao Paulo

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Thais Chaves, PhD · Professor - Ribeirão Preto Medical School - University of São Paulo

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

60 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2018-12-20

Primary Completion

2019-10-30

Completion

2019-11-30

Countries

• Brazil

Study Locations