The primary aim of this study is to compare the effects of an exercise program based on movement control exercises associated with self-management advice (SME) or pain neuroscience education (PNE) on the outcomes of pain intensity and pain disability in patients with chronic non-specific low back pain (CLBP).
Participants: One hundred and four volunteers (104) aged 18-50 years with chronic non-specific low back pain. Interventions: The volunteers will be randomized into two treatment groups: self-management education and movement control exercises or pain neuroscience education and exercises based on movement control exercises. Two workshops of 40 minutes each will be administered as education approach and the exercise program along 2 months ( and 12 sessions distributed over 2 months. Main outcome measures: Primary outcomes will include pain intensity and low back disability, and secondary outcomes will be pain catastrophizing, pain self-efficacy, kinesiophobia, exercise adherence and global perceived effect. These will be measured pre- and post-intervention and at the 1-month follow-up. Statistical analysis will be conducted following treatment intent principles, and treatment effects will be calculated using a mixed linear model, considering intervention groups as a factor and assessments over time as repeated measures.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
104
Pain neuroscience education (2 sessions during 40 minutes) administered by an interactive workshop
A self-management education (2 sessions during 40 minutes) administered by an interactive workshop
Eight sessions of movement control exercises (30 minutes each) + advice to perform the exercises at home twice a week.
Physical Therapy Clinic
Jacarezinho, Paraná, Brazil
RECRUITINGUniversity of Sao Paulo
Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
RECRUITINGPain intensity - Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS)
The NPRS used to assess pain intensity in this trial will consist in a sequence of numbers from 0 to 10, in which 0 represents "no pain" and 10 represents "worst pain imaginable". Previous research has found the NPRS to be responsive to change, with a minimum clinically important difference (MCID) of 2.4 among patients with CLBP receiving exercise or education.
Time frame: Immediately after and at 1-month follow-up
Low Back Pain Disability
The Brazilian Portuguese version of Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) will be used to assess low back pain related disability. This instrument consists of 10 items, each of which has six response options. The total score will be calculated by summing up all the points, with the largest possible sum being 50. This sum will be transformed into a percentage by multiplying it by two. Previous research has found that ODI showed responsiveness to change for patients with CLBP, with MCID of 8 points.
Time frame: Immediately after and at 1-month follow-up
Pain Catastrophizing
Validated and translated to Brazilian-Portuguese, the Pain Catastrophizing scale (Br-PCS) is a self-administered questionnaire that presents 13 questions, divided into 3 domains: helplessness, magnification, and rumination. The scale has 5 points: 0 (minimum); 1 (slight); 2 (moderate); 3 (intense); and 4 (very intense). The final score ranges from 0 to 52 points, with the psychological risk being directly proportional to higher scores.
Time frame: Immediately after and at 1-month follow-up
Pain Self-Efficacy
Validated for Brazilian-Portuguese, the Pain Self-Efficacy Scale (PSE) presents 10 questions scored from 0 (Not at all confident) to 6 (Completely confident). The score achieved on this scale can range from 0 to 60, higher values reflecting stronger self-efficacy beliefs.
Time frame: Immediately after and at 1-month follow-up
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Fear Avoidance Beliefs
Validated and translated to Brazilian-Portuguese, the Fear Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire (FABQ-Brazil) is composed of 16 self-report items, subdivided into the FABQ-Phys, addressing beliefs related to occupational activities, and the FABQ-Work, work-related beliefs. However, the FABQ-Work score should be measured by adding items 6,7,9,10,11,12, and 15 with a score ranging from 0 to 42 and the FABQ-Phys through the sum of items 2,3,4, and 5, with the score ranging from 0 to 24 points.
Time frame: Immediately after and at 1-month follow-up
Exercise Adherence
We will administer the Brazilian Portuguese version of the scale cross-culturally adapted. The tool is comprised of 16 items, 6 items directly assessing behavior adherence (Section B), while 10 additional items related to non-adherence reasons (Section C). The 16 items were classified using an ordinal scale of 5 possible answers (0 = strongly agree to 4 = totally disagree) with a possible score range from 0 to 64. A higher overall adherence score indicated better adherence to exercise.
Time frame: at the beginning of following session, immediately after and at 1-month follow-up
Global Perceived Effect
The Global Perceived Effect Scale has the purpose of investigating musculoskeletal features, where the patient has the capacity to report improvement or deterioration over time, usually used to measure the effect of a therapy with the question: "Compared to when this episode began, how would you describe your low back currently?" Scored from -5 (much worse) to +5 (fully recovered), higher scores indicate improvement in the condition.
Time frame: Immediately after and at 1-month follow-up