Pain Neuroscience Education for Acute and Sub-Acute Low Back Pain

Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Pain, Back; Pain, Chronic; Low Back Pain

Treatments: Behavioral: Pain Neuroscience Education

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03722394

1202-4022

Details and patient eligibility

About

To determine if Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE) would result in positive clinical changes in patients presenting with acute or sub-acute low back pain (LBP).

Full description

Background: Pain neuroscience education (PNE) has shown efficacy in treating chronic pain. Clinicians may believe PNE is not suitable for acute and sub-acute pain. Subgroupings of low back pain (LBP) imply some patients with LBP may respond favorably to PNE.

Objective: To determine if PNE would result in positive clinical changes in patients presenting with acute or sub-acute LBP.

Methods: Eighty consecutive patients with LBP < 3 months were enrolled in the study. Patients completed a demographics questionnaire, leg and LBP rating (Numeric Pain Rating Scale - NPRS), disability (Oswestry Disability Index), fear-avoidance (Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire), pain catastrophization (Pain Catastrophization Scale), central sensitization (Central Sensitization Inventory), pain knowledge (Revised Neurophysiology of Pain Questionnaire), risk assessment (Keele STarT Back Screening Tool), active trunk flexion and straight leg raise (SLR). Patients received a 15-minute verbal, one-on-one PNE session, followed by repeat measurement of LBP and leg pain (NPRS), trunk flexion and SLR.

Enrollment: 80 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• a complaint of LBP with or without leg pain less than 3 months, and
• a willingness to participate

Exclusion criteria

• a) were under age 18 (minor);
• b) had undergone lumbar surgery;
• c) could not read or understand the English language;
• d) presented with any cognitive deficits rendering them unsuitable for PNE (i.e., stroke, traumatic brain injury, etc.),
• e) declined to participate or
• f) presented with a medical etiology (red flag) associated with their LBP.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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80 participants in 1 patient group

Pain Neuroscience Education

Experimental group

Description:

Subjects received a 15-minute verbal, one-on-one Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE) session

Treatment:

Behavioral: Pain Neuroscience Education