Clinical trial NCT03362333: Pain Neuroscience Education and Exercise
Official title: Pain Neuroscience Education and Exercise Versus Exercise for University Students With Chronic Idiopathic Neck Pain: a Randomized, Controlled and Single Blind Study
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Neck Pain
Lead sponsor: Aveiro University
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2017-12-05
Enrollment: 52
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: This study examined the effects of pain neuroscience education plus exercise when compared with exercise only in university students with chronic idiopathic neck pain.

Detailed description: This study examined the effects of pain neuroscience education plus exercise when compared with exercise only in university students with chronic idiopathic neck pain.

University students with chronic neck pain were randomly allocated to receive pain neuroscience education and exercise or exercise only and assessed at baseline, after the intervention and at 3 months follow up. Outcome variables were pain intensity (primary outcome), disability, fear of movement, catastrophizing, knowledge of pain neurophysiology, pressure pain thresholds and neck and scapular muscle endurance.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Participants could enter the study if they had chronic idiopathic neck pain, defined as pain felt in the neck at least once a week in the previous 3 months and for which no cause had been established. Furthermore, they were required to have a minimum pain intensity in the previous week of 2 in the visual analogue scale.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Participants were excluded if they had had physiotherapy for their neck pain in the 6 months previous to the study, if they had rheumatic, nervous, cardiac and/or respiratory pathology that could prevent or make it difficult to do the exercises. Exclusion criteria were ascertained by self-report.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Pain intensity
timeFrame: At the beginning
measure: Pain intensity
timeFrame: 5 weeks
measure: Pain intensity
timeFrame: At 3 months
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Deep neck flexor endurance
timeFrame: At the beginning
measure: Deep neck flexor endurance
timeFrame: 5 weeks
measure: Neck extensors endurance
timeFrame: At the beginning
measure: Neck extensors endurance
timeFrame: 5 weeks
measure: Scapular stabilizers endurance
timeFrame: At the beginning
measure: Scapular stabilizers endurance
timeFrame: 5 weeks
measure: Pressure pain thresholds
timeFrame: At the beginning
measure: Pressure pain thresholds
timeFrame: 5 weeks
measure: Disability
timeFrame: At the beginning
measure: Disability
timeFrame: 5 weeks
measure: Disability
timeFrame: 3 months
measure: catastrophizing
timeFrame: at beginning
measure: catastrophizing
timeFrame: 5 weeks
measure: catastrophizing
timeFrame: 3 months
measure: fear of movement
timeFrame: At the beginning
measure: fear of movement
timeFrame: 5 weeks
measure: fear of movement
timeFrame: 3 months
measure: Knowledge of pain neurophysiology
timeFrame: at beginning
measure: Knowledge of pain neurophysiology
timeFrame: 5 weeks
measure: Knowledge of pain neurophysiology
timeFrame: 3 months
Other outcomes:
Locations:
Study officials:
affiliation: University of Aveiro
name: Anabela Silva, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: