Pain neuroscience education plus exercise compared with exercise in university students with chronic idiopathic neck pain

Abstract

Background/Aims Neck pain is a common complaint. Its prevalence is particularly high in university students. This study examined the effects of pain neuroscience education plus exercise when compared with exercise only in university students with chronic idiopathic neck pain. Methods University students with chronic neck pain were randomly allocated to receive pain neuroscience education plus exercise, or exercise only intervention, and assessed at baseline, after the intervention and at 3-month follow-up. Pain intensity (primary outcome), disability, fear of movement, catastrophising, knowledge of pain neurophysiology, pressure pain thresholds and neck and scapular muscle endurance were measured to determine the impact of the interventions. Results It was found that disability (F=17.3, P<0.001; partial eta2=0.48), fear of movement (F=5.3, P=0.009; partial eta2=0.22), catastrophising (F=16.4, P<0.001; partial eta2=0.48) and neck extensor endurance (F=11.0, P=0.002; partial eta2=0.19) changed significantly over time. There was a significant increase in neurophysiology of pain questionnaire score for the group receiving pain neuroscience education plus exercise but not for the group receiving exercise only (group vs time interaction: F=19.8, P<0.001; partial eta2=0.51). No other significant differences were found. Conclusions Pain neuroscience education plus exercise has comparable results to exercise only, with the exception of knowledge about pain neurophysiology. The impact of this difference needs to be explored in future studies.