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Pain Neuroscience Education Combined With Cognition-targeted Motor Control Training

CompletedNot applicableNCT02098005
View the official record on ClinicalTrials.gov

Recruiting status changes often. Contact the study team listed on ClinicalTrials.gov, and talk to your doctor before joining a study.

This study has no listed site in Canada in this snapshot. It is included as part of the worldwide chronic pain corpus.

Brief summary (from the registry)

Chronic spinal pain (CSP) includes chronic low back pain, failed back surgery, chronic whiplash associated disorders, chronic non-traumatic neck pain, etc. The current investigators and others have provided evidence for impaired motor control of spinal muscles in patients with CSP. In addition, there is increasing evidence that central mechanisms, i.e. hyperexcitability of the central nervous system and brain abnormalities (e.g. decreased brain matter density) play a role in CSP. Hence, treatments for CSP should not only address the spinal muscles and joints, but also the brain. Therefore, a modern neuroscience approach, comprising of pain neuroscience education followed by cognition-targeted motor control training, can be applied. The scientific objective entails examining the effectiveness of the modern neuroscience approach vs. usual care evidence-based physiotherapy for reducing pain and improving functioning in Flemish patients with CSP. A secondary objective entails examining the effectiveness of the modern neuroscience approach vs. usual care evidence-based physiotherapy for altering brain's structure and function (magnetic Resonance Imaging) in Flemish patients with CSP. Therefore, a multi-center triple-blind randomized controlled trial will be conducted. To comply with this scientific objective, 120 CSP patients will be recruited and subjected to the baseline assessment. The baseline assessment includes the assessment of pain (including symptoms of central sensitization and conditioned pain modulation), the assessment of restrictions in functioning, brain imaging, the evaluation of motor control and muscle properties, spinal mobility, and psychosocial correlates. Baseline analysis will provide descriptive statistics and will lead to calculate correlation between the different outcome measures and predictors of pain and dysfunctioning. In a next step, included patients will be randomized to the experimental or control group. Those in the experimental group w…

Study details

Official title
A Modern Neuroscience Approach to Chronic Spinal Pain: Pain Neuroscience Education Combined With Cognition-targeted Motor Control Training
Conditions
  • Chronic Spinal Pain
Interventions
  • Other: usual care evidence-based physiotherapy
  • Other: modern neuroscience approach
Sponsor
University Ghent
Collaborators
Agentschap voor Innovatie door Wetenschap en Technologie; Vrije Universiteit Brussel; University Hospital, Ghent
Start date
2014-01
Primary completion
2016-04
Sex
All
Age range
from 18 Years to 65 Years
Results posted
No results posted in this snapshot
Countries
Belgium
Total sites listed
3

Eligibility criteria

Show eligibility criteria (verbatim from the registry)
Inclusion Criteria: * Nonspecific spinal pain of at least 3 months' duration, at least 3 days per week * Aged between 18 and 65 years * Seeking care because of neck pain or low back pain * Living or working within a radius of 50 km around the therapy location * Not starting new treatments or medication and continuing their usual care 6 weeks prior to and during study participation (to obtain a steady state) * Nonspecific failed back surgery \> 3 years are permitted * Not undertaking exercise (\> 3 metabolic Equivalents) 3 days before the experiment * Refraining from analgesics 48h prior to assessments. * Abstaining from caffeine, alcohol or nicotine 24h prior to assessment Exclusion Criteria: * Neuropathic pain * Chronic widespread pain * Being pregnant or having given birth in the preceding year * Contra-indications related to MRI imaging * History of specific spinal surgery

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov (US National Library of Medicine), snapshot October 2026. Check the registry for current recruiting status. Record: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02098005