Pain neuroscience education is currently one of the techniques being explored in physiotherapy for pain management. The benefits of this technique are gradually becoming evident in various published studies. So far, it has been widely studied for its short-term effects, but the education provided has typically been generic, not focused on exercise. However, it is suggested that this technique should be combined with exercise to achieve the expected outcomes. Therefore, pain education should be tailored to the specific physical activities the subject will perform to maximise its effectiveness. The primary aim of this study is to analyse the outcome of combining exercise with tailored pain neuroscience education on aspects such as pain, kinesiophobia, catastrophizing, exercise conceptualization, and upper limb function in subjects with neck pain. The secondary aim is to evaluate the relationship between kinesiophobia and catastrophizing and their impact on the results of various upper limb performance tests. Finally, the effects of therapeutic exercise alone will be compared with those of therapeutic exercise combined with pain neuroscience education, focusing on pain, kinesiophobia, catastrophizing, and exercise conceptualization. A double-blind, randomised clinical trial has been designed, in which three intervention protocols will be applied to 81 subjects with non-specific neck pain: education with exercise, exercise alone, and placebo alone. Subjects with non-specific neck pain who meet the inclusion criteria will be enrolled. Demographic characteristics of the subjects, as well as pain, kinesiophobia, catastrophizing, and upper limb performance test scores, will be assessed. This study aims to explore the potential relevance of a pain neuroscience education session prior to therapeutic exercise, as well as to influence the clinical recommendations made by clinicians during treatment.
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Change in Kinesiophobia Level from Baseline to the End of the Interventions as Assessed by the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK-11SV)
Timeframe: Baseline (Day 1), post-education/rest (Day 1), and post-intervention (Day 1).
Change in Pain Beliefs from Baseline to the End of the Interventions as Assessed by the Pain Beliefs Questionnaire (PBQ).
Timeframe: Baseline (Day 1), post-education/rest (Day 1), and post-intervention (Day 1).
Change in Catastrophizing Level from Baseline to the End of the Interventions as Assessed by the Pain and Catastrophizing Scale (PCS).
Timeframe: Baseline (Day 1), post-education/rest (Day 1), and post-intervention (Day 1).
Change in Pain Intensity from Baseline to the End of the Interventions as Assessed by the Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS).
Timeframe: Baseline (Day 1), post-education/rest (Day 1), and post-intervention (Day 1).
Change in Evoked Pain Intensity from Baseline to the End of the Interventions as Assessed by the Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS)
Timeframe: Baseline (Day 1), post-education/rest (Day 1), and post-intervention (Day 1).