Therapeutic neuroscience education via e-mail: a case report

Pain Neuroscience Education in elective surgery patients: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE) consists of an educational strategy that seeks to understand the biological processes of pain and how to control it. The main objective of this study will be to evaluate the impact of PNE on outcomes related to the postoperative period. The hypothesis is that the intervention may positively influence postoperative recovery, contributing to pain control, clinical indications, acceptance and consumption of analgesics and other pharmacological drugs that contribute to its control, as well as psychological aspects, such as anxiety, depression and pain catastrophising.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

This will be an open, parallel, multicentre and randomised controlled clinical trial. A total of 100 participants aged between 18 and 59 years of age, of both genders, who are going to have elective general surgery will be evaluated. The intervention group will participate in a preoperative pain neuroscience educational session and also receive usual preoperative care, while the control group receives usual preoperative care as well. The educational session will last 30 min and consists of a video (5:20 min), a questionnaire about the content, time for participants to express their beliefs, thoughts and doubts. Participants will be evaluated preoperatively and there will be one postintervention evaluation. The intensity and characteristics of pain and anxiety are evaluated as primary outcomes. As secondary outcomes, pain catastrophising and depression are taken into account.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The project was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Ceilandia, the Research Ethics Committee of the Institute of Strategic Health Management of the Federal District and the Research Council of the Hospital of Brasília-Rede Dasa (CAAE: 28572420.3.0000.8093). Recruitment began in June of 2023. All participants were included in the study only after their written consent. All data obtained will be analysed and distributed through publication in journals and at scientific events.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials (ReBEC) (RBR-23mr7yy).

A systematic review of the added value of perioperative pain neuroscience education

OBJECTIVE

To identify and summarize evidence about the benefits of perioperative pain neuroscience education (PNE) on pain-related and psychosocial outcomes.

METHODS

Included were reports written in English that carried out PNE or its synonyms; perioperative period; aged ≥ 18 years; interventional studies and observational studies. Secondary studies, conference abstracts, and editorials were excluded. There was no time limitation.

INFORMATION SOURCES

PubMed, Virtual Health Library, Cochrane Library, and Science Direct. Search: June 20th 2023. The risk of bias was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute checklists, and synthesis followed the recommendations of the Synthesis Without Meta-analysis (SWiM) guideline. Register: Center for Open Science website (10.17605/OSF.IO/ZTNEJ).

RESULTS

The sample consisted of 18 reports. For pain outcomes, it was not possible to attribute PNE benefits because ten reports found improvements in both intervention and control groups. For psychosocial outcomes, fourteen reports found benefits for PNE groups. All the analyzed reports showed low risk of bias.

CONCLUSION

PNE had additional benefits beyond those obtained with conventional treatment for psychosocial outcomes.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

Due to the lack of evidence, it was not possible to indicate the clinical use of PNE. It is suggested that further studies are needed aimed at clarifying the possible benefits.

Pain Neuroscience Education in Elementary and Middle Schools

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to deliver pain neuroscience education (PNE) to participants in grades 3 to 8 to determine whether participants in these grades had positive shifts in pain knowledge and beliefs.

METHODS

Three hundred twenty participants, grades 3 to 8, received a 1-time, 30-minute PNE lecture. The Neurophysiology of Pain Questionnaire and the Health Care Provider's Pain and Impairment Relationship Scale were administered before and after the PNE lecture.

RESULTS

All grades improved in pain knowledge and beliefs. Higher-grade school participants (sixth to eighth grades) experienced larger shifts in pain knowledge and attitudes and beliefs than lower-grade (third to fifth grades) participants.

CONCLUSION

PNE results in changes in pain knowledge and beliefs in school participants in grades 3 to 8.

The clinical impact of pain neuroscience continuing education on physical therapy outcomes for patients with low back and neck pain

Objectives

Research suggests that attendance by physical therapists at continuing education (CE) targeting the management of low back pain (LBP) and neck pain does not result in positive impacts on clinical outcomes. The aim of this study was to determine if therapists attending a self-paced 3-hour online Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE) program was associated with any observed changes to patient outcomes and also clinical practice.

Methods

Participants were 25 different physical therapists who treated 3,705 patients with low back pain (LBP) or neck pain before and after they had completed an online PNE CE course. Change in outcomes measures of pain and disability at discharge were compared for the patients treated before and after the therapist training. Clinical practice patterns of the therapists, including total treatment visits, duration of care, total units billed, average units billed per visit, percentage of ‘active’ billing units and percentage of ‘active and manual’ billing units, were also compared for the patient care episodes before and after the therapist training.

Results

There was no significant difference for change in pain scores at discharge for patients treated after therapist CE training compared to those treated before regardless of the condition (LBP or neck pain). However, patients with LBP who were treated after therapist CE training did report greater improvement in their disability scores. Also after CE training, for each episode of care, therapists tended to use less total visits, billed fewer units per visit, and billed a greater percentage of more ‘active’ and ‘active and manual’ billing units.

Discussion

Attending an online 3-hour CE course on PNE resulted in improved disability scores for patients with LBP, but not for those with neck pain. Changes in clinical behavior by the therapists included using less visits, billing fewer total units, and shifting to more active and manual therapy interventions. Further prospective studies with control groups should investigate the effect of therapist CE on patient outcomes and clinical practice.

"A journey to learn about pain": the development and validation of a comic book about pain neuroscience education for children

BACKGROUND

Pain education resources for children using appropriate language and illustrations remain scarce.

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to summarize the development process and testing for face and content validity of a structured comic book about pain education for children.

METHODS

A first draft of a comic book was developed (Portuguese and English) based on pain education concepts. Experts in pediatric pain from different countries analyzed content, objectives, language, illustrations, layout, motivation, and cultural adjustment. A third draft developed in Portuguese considering experts' suggestions was presented to children and parents in Brazil. The total adequacy score was calculated from the sum of the scores obtained in each domain, divided by the maximum total score. Descriptive analysis is presented.

RESULTS

The expert panel was composed of 11 (64.7%) physical therapists, and 6 (35.3%) psychologists. The total adequacy score (0-100%) was 87.74%. The third draft version of the comic book was presented to 28 children and the final version was presented to 16 children with a mean age of 9.6 years. Children were totally satisfied (n=4; 26.7%) or satisfied (n=9; 56.2%) with the story of the comic book. The readability of the comic book was considered suitable for grades 4 to 6 educational level.

CONCLUSION

The comic book "A Journey to Learn about Pain" was validated for face and content validity by the expert panel and the Brazilian target population. This comic book is available in Portuguese and English and can be a potentially useful resource for children.

Physical Therapy Management of Neurogenic Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

Neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome is a complex and challenging condition to manage. There is a lack of high-quality evidence to guide clinical decision making and therefore a need to individualize treatment. Examination includes identifying postural, anatomic, and biomechanical factors that contribute to compromise of the neurovascular structures. Patients can experience good outcomes with conservative management with pain science-informed physical therapy combined with biomechanical approaches addressing contributing impairments. Retraining movement patterns while maintaining patency allows for a greater tolerance to functional activities and can have a positive impact on quality of life. Close collaboration with the patient's care team is critical.

Preoperative pain neuroscience education for shoulder surgery: A case series

Background

Central sensitisation, in addition to high levels of fear-avoidance and pain catastrophisation may exist in a subgroup of patients with shoulder pain. Pain neuroscience education (PNE) has been shown to positively influence sensitivity of the nervous system, as well as reduce fear and catastrophisation prior to lumbar and total knee surgery. To date, no study has examined the application of PNE prior to shoulder surgery.

Objectives

This study examined the response to preoperative PNE in patients preparing for shoulder surgery.

Method

An exploratory pre–post case series was conducted. Twelve patients scheduled for surgery completed various pre-education measurements including shoulder pain, fear-avoidance, pain catastrophisation, beliefs and expectations regarding surgery, active shoulder flexion and pressure pain thresholds for the involved and uninvolved shoulder and the dominant-sided knee. Patients underwent a standard 30-min, one-on-one PNE session with a physiotherapist prior to surgery.

Results

Following education, all measures improved with some failing to reach significance: self-reported pain (p = 0.125), pain catastrophisation (p = 0.250) and pain pressure threshold of the uninvolved shoulder (p = 0.68) and knee (p = 0.097). Fear-avoidance (p = 0.013), active shoulder flexion (p = 0.013) and pain pressure threshold for the involved shoulder (p = 0.004) significantly improved.

Conclusion

A small patient group improved beyond minimal detectable change and/or minimal clinical important difference after education. No significant shifts of the preoperative beliefs occurred after education.

Clinical implications

Preoperative PNE may be beneficial to a subgroup of patients scheduled for shoulder surgery.

Behavior Change Following Pain Neuroscience Education in Middle Schools: A Public Health Trial

Chronic pain and the opioid epidemic need early, upstream interventions to aim at meaningful downstream behavioral changes. A recent pain neuroscience education (PNE) program was developed and tested for middle-school students to increase pain knowledge and promote healthier beliefs regarding pain. In this study, 668 seventh-grade middle-school students either received a PNE lecture (n = 220); usual curriculum school pain education (UC) (n = 198) or PNE followed by two booster (PNEBoost) sessions (n = 250). Prior to, immediately after and at six-month follow-up, pain knowledge and fear of physical activity was measured. Six months after the initial intervention school, physical education, recess and sports attendance/participation as well as healthcare choices for pain (doctor visits, rehabilitation visits and pain medication use) were measured. Students receiving PNEBoost used 30.6% less pain medication in the last 6 months compared to UC (p = 0.024). PNEBoost was superior to PNE for rehabilitation visits in students experiencing pain (p = 0.01) and UC for attending school in students who have experienced pain > 3 months (p = 0.004). In conclusion, PNEBoost yielded more positive behavioral results in middle school children at six-month follow-up than PNE and UC, including significant reduction in pain medication use.

De-educate to re-educate: aging and low back pain

BACKGROUND

Patients' beliefs about their condition have been shown to play a significant role in their pain experience and response to treatment, especially when a patient sees their tissue health as vulnerable or aged. Educational can alter these beliefs. Prior to new information, patients often have to be de-educated regarding common misbeliefs to undergo re-education.

AIMS

To determine if a brief de-education session regarding aging and low back pain (LBP) can shift pain ratings, fear-avoidance beliefs, beliefs regarding aging and LBP, and limited active trunk flexion.

METHODS

Fifty adults ranging from 50 to 93 years of age (SD = 10.73) with a 15.1 years of LBP were education on the poor correlation between aging and LBP. Prior to and immediately after the education pain ratings for LBP and leg pain (numeric pain rating scale-NPRS), fear-avoidance (fear avoidance beliefs questionnaire-FABQ), beliefs regarding aging and LBP (Likert scale) and active trunk flexion were measured.

RESULTS

Significant changes were found in positive shifts with LBP (p = 0.002), leg pain (p = 0.042), FABQ-physical activity subscale (p = 0.004) and active trunk forward flexion (p < 0.001).

DISCUSSION

The results show that education aimed at altering beliefs regarding LBP and aging result in a positive shift in pain, fear avoidance related to physical activity and active trunk flexion.

CONCLUSION

Prior to providing patients with new healthcare information, de-educating them regarding poor beliefs may be helpful in shifting them towards new, healthier paradigms associated with their condition.

The clinical implementation of pain neuroscience education: A survey study

Pain neuroscience education (PNE) has gained considerable attention in research. Three systematic reviews have shown increasing efficacy of PNE decreasing pain, disability, pain catastrophization, movement restrictions, and healthcare utilization. In the development of any new therapeutic approach, it is proposed that there are three stages: development, validation, and implementation. To date, the development and validation of PNE have been well-established. The third stage, implementation, however, lacks when it comes to PNE. The purpose of this study was to survey physical therapists (PT) on their experience and implementation of PNE, following a 15-hour PNE class. Upon development and validation of a PT-PNE survey, a random sample of PTs was invited to take the online survey. Two hundred and eighty-six PTs (female 56%) completed the PNE questionnaire. Ninety-one percent of PTs reported not being taught PNE in PT school. PT's are applying PNE into clinical practice to a variety of patients, experience outcomes in line with the current best-evidence, but struggle establishing which patients are ideal for PNE. The same five patient characteristics associated with success were also associated with failure, albeit in a different ranking order. This finding highlight the need to further investigate the factors associated with success and failure of PNE.

Kinesiophobia and maladaptive coping strategies prevent improvements in pain catastrophizing following pain neuroscience education in fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndrome: An explorative study

Many patients with chronic fatigue syndrome(CFS) and/or fibromyalgia(FM) have little understanding of their condition, leading to maladaptive pain cognitions and coping strategies. These should be tackled during therapy, for instance by pain neurophysiology education (PNE). Although positive effects of PNE are well-established, it remains unclear why some patients benefit more than others. This paper aims at exploring characteristics of patients responding poor to PNE to further improve its effectiveness. Data from two RCT's were pooled to search for baseline predictors. Subjects (n = 39) suffering from CFS/FM, as defined by the American College of Rheumatology, underwent PNE treatment. The Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS); Pain Coping Inventory (PCI); and Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK) were defined as outcome measures. There was a significant negative relationship between baseline TSK and the change in both PCS total score (r = -0.584; p < 0.001) and PCS rumination (r = -0.346; p < 0.05). There was a significant negative relationship between the change in PCS total score and baseline PCI worrying (r = -0.795; p < 0.001) and retreating (r = -0.356; p < 0.05). FM/CFS patients who tend to worry allot about their pain and with high levels of kinesiophobia are likely to experience less reductions in catastrophizing following PNE. It seems that PNE alone is insufficient to reduce catastrophic thinking regarding pain, and supplementary treatment is needed.

Listening is therapy: Patient interviewing from a pain science perspective

The interview of a patient attending physical therapy is the cornerstone of the physical examination, diagnosis, plan of care, prognosis, and overall efficacy of the therapeutic experience. A thorough, skilled interview drives the objective tests and measures chosen, as well as provides context for the interpretation of those tests and measures, during the physical examination. Information from the interview powerfully influences the treatment modalities chosen by the physical therapist (PT) and thus also impacts the overall outcome and prognosis of the therapy sessions. Traditional physical therapy focuses heavily on biomedical information to educate people about their pain, and this predominant model focusing on anatomy, biomechanics, and pathoanatomy permeates the interview and physical examination. Although this model may have a significant effect on people with acute, sub-acute or postoperative pain, this type of examination may not only gather insufficient information regarding the pain experience and suffering, but negatively impact a patient's pain experience. In recent years, physical therapy treatment for pain has increasingly focused on pain science education, with increasing evidence of pain science education positively affecting pain, disability, pain catastrophization, movement limitations, and overall healthcare cost. In line with the ever-increasing focus of pain science in physical therapy, it is time for the examination, both subjective and objective, to embrace a biopsychosocial approach beyond the realm of only a biomedical approach. A patient interview is far more than "just" collecting information. It also is a critical component to establishing an alliance with a patient and a fundamental first step in therapeutic neuroscience education (TNE) for patients in pain. This article highlights the interview process focusing on a pain science perspective as it relates to screening patients, establishing psychosocial barriers to improvement, and pain mechanism assessment.

An abbreviated therapeutic neuroscience education session improves pain knowledge in first-year physical therapy students but does not change attitudes or beliefs

OBJECTIVE

To determine if a 3-hour therapeutic neuroscience education session alters physical therapy student's knowledge of pain and effects their attitudes and beliefs regarding treating chronic pain.

METHODS

Seventy-seven entry-level doctoral physical therapy students participated in the study. Following consent, demographic data were obtained and then the subjects completed the Neuroscience of Pain Questionnaire, the Health Care Provider's Pain and Impairment Relationship Scale and an additional questionnaire designed by the researchers. The subjects then received a 3-hour educational session developed by the researchers, focusing on the neurobiology and physiology of pain. The questionnaires were re-administered immediately after the educational session and at 6 months post-education.

RESULTS

Seventy-seven subjects (mean age = 24.7 years, 57.1% female and 81.8% white) completed the questionnaires pre- and post-educational session with 75 completing the questionnaires at 6 months. To assess the effect of the education on the scores of the questionnaires, a repeated measures ANOVA was conducted. Students demonstrated significantly higher scores on the neuroscience of pain questionnaire (p < 0.001) with no significant effect found on the attitudes and beliefs questionnaire at any of the time points. There were significant differences found on some of the individual questions that were part of the additional questionnaire.

DISCUSSION

An educational session on the neuroscience of pain is beneficial for educating entry-level doctoral physical therapy students immediately post-education and at 6 months. This educational session had no effect on the student's attitudes and beliefs regarding treating the chronic pain population. There were additional significant findings regarding individual questions posed to the subjects.