Evaluation of Pain Neuroscience Education for Patients Who Experience Chronic Pain With Concurrent Opioid Dependence

June 2, 2024 updated by: Nicole D Windsor, Wichita State University

Development of a Pain Neuroscience Education Program for Patients Who Are Opioid Dependence With Concurrent Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain

Chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP) is estimated to affect over 100 million adults and is targeted as an instigator of opioid dependence (OpD). Opioid medications are often the first response for patients suffering with CMP; yet over 10 million people admit to misusing opioids annually. With the opioid epidemic, the healthcare system now has a population of patients who experience CMP with concurrent OpD (CMP/OpD). This persistent problem can create a perfect storm of kinesiophobia, reduced self-efficacy, and physical dysfunction. A critical component to chronic pain management is understanding how patients view their pain experience. Education may be one key that unlocks the door to functional improvement, but traditional physical therapy (PT) education utilizes anatomical models that focus on tissue damage and peripheral sources of pain. Researchers have explored educating people about pain via Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE), a cognitive-based intervention that facilitates understanding of the biological processes underpinning the pain state. PNE may facilitate understanding pain experiences that are normal and expected, with the intent to reduce fear and increase pain self-efficacy. As yet, utilization of PNE has not been researched in patients with CMP/OpD. Therefore, authors hypothesize that the introduction of an adapted PNE (a-PNE) curriculum, as a single intervention, may facilitate positive changes in kinesiophobia, pain self-efficacy, and knowledge of the neurophysiology of pain for patients with CMP/OpD.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Methods Study Design This study was a pre-test-post-test, quasi-experimental design with patients suffering from CMP/OpD being treated at a family practice clinic associated with University of Kentucky. A quasi-experimental study was chosen due to the small sample of convenience.

Patients Patients were recruited from an opioid management program (OMP) at the referenced family practice clinic. At the time of study recruitment, the OMP had 31 patients participating monthly.

Procedures The 21 participating patients were divided into two groups via a coin toss; 13 were included in the experimental group (PNE) and eight were included in the general health education control group (GHE).

All patients reviewed and signed the IRB approved consent/HIPAA form and performed the MMSE. Each patient completed the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK-11), Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (PSEQ), and the Neurophysiology of Pain Questionnaire (NPQ) at the onset of the study. All intervention sessions were completed once per month directly after the patient's regularly scheduled monthly OMP appointment.

The PNE group received the a-PNE curriculum which was created with patient-friendly verbiage and used to educate subjects about the inner workings of the nervous system. The a-PNE curriculum, a PowerPoint presentation was divided into four, 15-minute, one-on-one sessions with the PI in a private treatment room to facilitate discussion and minimize distractions. The educational information was related directly to the patients' CMP/OpD experience to personalize the intervention and presented at a pace that was appropriate for each patient. At the conclusion of each session, the PNE group was provided handouts containing information that was reviewed during that session. At the end of the a-PNE intervention, the patients completed the three questionnaires.

The GHE group was provided practical education for healthy living over four monthly sessions, 15-minutes per session. The GHE intervention was comprised of topics promoting healthy living in a one-on-one session with the PI in a private treatment room to facilitate discussion. At the conclusion of each session, the GHE group was provided handouts containing information that was reviewed during the session. At the end of the GHE intervention, the patients completed the three questionnaires.

It should be noted that no patients were receiving other physical therapy interventions throughout the time of the study. The principal investigator removed exercise-related language and overt physical therapy-related topics to focus primarily on the psychosocial constructs for both groups. Considering the many factors surrounding this cohort, multiple sessions were chosen for the two groups to minimize the effects of CMP/OpD of decreased attention span, decreased working memory and decreased cognitive flexibility, which has been demonstrated in the literature.

Ninety days after the completion of the intervention sessions and the post-program assessments, a follow-up data collection was performed in which all patients completed the three questionnaires. After the research study was complete and all data collected, the GHE subjects were offered the identical a-PNE intervention which was utilized with the PNE group.

Statistical Analysis Statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS software (v.27.0, SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The significance level was set at P<0.05. The scores of three patients who did not complete the study were removed from the data set.

Normative distribution was evaluated utilizing the Shapiro-Wilk test. Descriptive statistics, including means and standard deviations (SD), were gathered for baseline demographic data. A group (a-PNE or GHE) by time (pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 90-day post-intervention) interaction analysis of variance (ANOVA) was completed for each dependent variable. Analysis included the Mauchly's Test of Sphericity to correct for violations. Bonferroni's correction was used as needed. Pearson's correlation was performed to inquire of correlation between variables.

Paired samples t-tests were conducted on each group and utilized to analyze pre-intervention to post-intervention and pre-intervention to 90-day post-intervention scores for each of the three dependent variables.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

21

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Kentucky
      • Lexington, Kentucky, United States, 40506
        • University Of Kentucky

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Subjects who were actively participating in an Opioid Management Program.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • 18 years of age or younger
  • Score of 24 or less on the Mini Mental State Examination

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Pain Neuroscience Education group
The PNE group received the a-PNE education curriculum which was created with patient-friendly verbiage and used to educate subjects about the inner workings of the nervous system. The a-PNE curriculum, a PowerPoint presentation was divided into four, 15-minute, one-on-one sessions with the PI in a private treatment room to facilitate discussion and minimize distractions. The educational information was related directly to the patients' CMP/OpD experience to personalize the intervention and presented at a pace that was appropriate for each patient. At the conclusion of each session, the PNE group was provided handouts containing information that was reviewed during that session. At the end of the a-PNE intervention, the patients completed the three questionnaires.
Other: Pain Neuroscience Education
Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE) is a cognitive-based education intervention that aims to change pain beliefs in patients experiencing CMP. Researchers have found PNE beneficial in assisting patients to reframe their understanding, attitudes, thoughts, and beliefs regarding their pain experience. PNE directs patients to relate chronic pain to overly sensitive nerves rather than assumed tissue damage. Further, PNE encourages patients to perform daily activities, work, and function in society, all despite pain. This facilitates behavior changes that are key in amending a patient's biopsychosocial state. Multiple sources make a strong case for the incorporation of PNE in having positive effects on reducing physical disability and modulating fear and anxiety in patients with CMP. Researchers have established a positive influence of PNE toward decreased kinesiophobia and have demonstrated a relation between increased self-efficacy and increased functional ability.
Other Names:
  • Pain neurophysiology education
  • Neuroscience Education
  • Biopsychosocial pain education
  • Pain science education
  • Therapeutic neuroscience education
Active Comparator: General Health Education group
The GHE group was provided practical education for healthy living over four monthly sessions, 15-minutes per session. The GHE intervention was comprised of topics promoting healthy living in a one-on-one session with the PI in a private treatment room to facilitate discussion. At the conclusion of each session, the GHE group was provided handouts containing information that was reviewed during the session. At the end of the GHE intervention, the patients completed the three questionnaires.
Other: General Health Education
General Health Education included: 20 Benefits of Walking 30 Minutes a Day; Why You Should Quit: Smoking Cessation; Heat vs. Cold: How to Use it For Pain Control; Sleep Hygiene.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK-11)
Time Frame: Pre-intervention (baseline), post-intervention (4-months past baseline), and 90-day post-intervention (7-months past baseline)
Kinesiophobia was measured by the 11-question TSK-11. Kinesiophobia is the fear of movement, or the fear of pain associated with movement. Subjects rate each item on a 4-point Likert scale with scoring ranging from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree". The TSK-11 tool specifically assesses a subject's fear of pain due to movement and is a valid and reliable tool for measuring kinesiophobia. The highest score available on the TSK-11 is 44 points, with higher scores indicating increased fear. The minimum detectible change (MDC) for the TSK-11 is 5.6, minimal clinically important difference (MCID) is 6 points, and test-retest reliability is 0.81 (95% CI, 0.58-0.93).
Pre-intervention (baseline), post-intervention (4-months past baseline), and 90-day post-intervention (7-months past baseline)
Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (PSEQ)
Time Frame: Pre-intervention (baseline), post-intervention (4-months past baseline), and 90-day post-intervention (7-months past baseline)
The patient's confidence with function despite pain, or self-efficacy, was measured by the Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (PSEQ). The PSEQ measures a patient's confidence in performing certain tasks, despite pain, and has a maximum score of 60 points which relates to the most positive outcome for the subject (with zero being the lowest self-efficacy). The PSEQ is a valid and reliable tool for measuring pain self-efficacy with a test-retest reliability of 0.85 (95% CI, 0.74-0.92), MDC of 10.9 and MCID of 11 points.
Pre-intervention (baseline), post-intervention (4-months past baseline), and 90-day post-intervention (7-months past baseline)
Neurophysiology of Pain Questionnaire
Time Frame: Pre-intervention (baseline), post-intervention (4-months past baseline), and 90-day post-intervention (7-months past baseline)
Knowledge gained and retained regarding the neurophysiology supporting the CMP experience was measured via the Neurophysiology of Pain Questionnaire (NPQ). The NPQ is a 12-item assessment that seeks to measure how a subject understands the biological mechanisms that sustain the pain experience. Statements are answered true, false, or unsure. There are 12 points possible with a higher score indicating more retained pain knowledge. Post-intervention, the NPQ will ascertain the subject's understanding of the a-PNE curriculum. The NPQ currently has no test-retest reliability, MDC or MCID available.
Pre-intervention (baseline), post-intervention (4-months past baseline), and 90-day post-intervention (7-months past baseline)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Wichita State University

Collaborators

University of Kentucky

Investigators

  • Study Chair: Anne Harrison, PhD, University Of Kentucky
  • Principal Investigator: Nicole D Windsor, PhD, University Of Kentucky
  • Study Director: Tony English, PhD, University Of Kentucky

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 3, 2020

Primary Completion (Actual)

January 15, 2021

Study Completion (Actual)

January 15, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 9, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 2, 2024

First Posted (Estimated)

June 4, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

June 4, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 2, 2024

Last Verified

June 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 53966

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Inquiries can be made to principal investigator. Study protocol, Subject de-identified demographics, outcome measure scores, statistical analysis.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Data is available at any time.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Data can be accessed by emailing nicole.windsor@wichita.edu

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ICF
  • CSR

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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