EIM’s pain science team has a new research paper published in the Journal of Physiotherapy Pain Association. The team studied a single session of Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE) to determine its effect on middle school students’ pain knowledge, beliefs regarding pain and fear of physical activity, as compared to traditional biomedical education.

Here are some key takeaways:

• This was a multi-school randomized controlled trial set at 16 private and public 7th grade classrooms, and included 419 7th grade students.
• Students received either a 30-minute PNE or traditional education in-person lecture by a physical therapist. Prior to and immediately following the lectures, students completed a knowledge of pain questionnaire (Neurophysiology of Pain Questionnaire – NPQ), fear of physical activity (Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire Physical Activity subscale – FABQ-PA) and beliefs regarding pain questionnaire.
• Conclusions: A PNE lecture to middle school students, compared to TE focusing on biomedical education results in significant immediate differences in regards to pain knowledge, fear of physical activity in the presence of pain and various beliefs regarding pain.

You can access the full paper here.

Reference: Louw, A; Podolak, J; Benz, P; Landrus, R; DeLorenzo, J; Davis, C; Rogers, A; Cooper, K; Kruse, A; Kruse, B and Zimney, K. Pain and Rehabilitation Journal; (47); Summer 2019; 14-24.