Chronic migraine patients have low level of knowledge about pain neurophysiology

Abstract

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Identify the level of knowledge about the neurophysiology of pain in patients with chronic migraine through the application of the Neurophysiology of Pain Questionnaire. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out with 30 patients with chronic migraine. The level of neurophysiological knowledge of pain was assessed by the Brazilian version of the Neurophysiology of Pain Questionnaire. RESULTS: In general, patients with chronic migraine had a low level of knowledge about pain neurophysiology with 4.03±1.52 correct answers in 12 questions (34.1%). From those 30 patients, there was a predominance of females (72.7%), aged 33±8.60 years, higher schooling level (73.4%), mild intensity of pain at rest (2.83±2.39), predominant subclassification of chronic migraine without aura (56.7%) and with a history of migraine for more than 10 years (60.1%). This article identified the level of knowledge about neurophysiology of pain in chronic migraines through the application of the Neurophysiology of Pain Questionnaire. CONCLUSION: Patients with chronic migraine have a low level of neurophysiological knowledge.