Bottom Line: In a randomized clinical trial of patients with chronic spinal pain, a program that combined education to help patients think differently about pain with an exercise program that increasingly introduced movements patients feared or avoided (pain neuroscience education plus cognition-targeted motor control training) appeared better than usual care (combining education on back and neck pain and general exercise therapy) at reducing pain and improving function and thoughts of pain.
Why The Research Is Interesting: Chronic spinal pain of a nonspecific source is associated with high rates of heath care use and disability worldwide. Effective treatments are essential. Patients with chronic spinal pain can have thoughts of pain associated with poor treatment outcomes that can include fear of movement, hypervigilance and pain catastrophizing.
Authors: Anneleen Malfliet, M.Sc., of Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Belgium, and coauthors
To Learn More: The full study is available on the For The Media website .
(doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2018.0492)
Editor's Note: The article contains conflict of interest and funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
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JAMA Neurology