Effectiveness of Communication-Focused Pain Neuroscience Education in Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain

Launched by UNIVERSITY OF THESSALY · May 31, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying a program called "Algo(S)Therapy," which focuses on helping people with chronic musculoskeletal pain—pain that lasts for more than three months in areas like the back, neck, shoulder, or knee. The goal is to see if training physiotherapists to communicate better with their patients can improve the results of pain education. Participants will be randomly placed into one of three groups: one will receive the pain education with a focus on communication skills, another will get the same education but without the communication emphasis, and the third will receive standard physiotherapy care. Researchers want to find out if the group with better communication skills experiences more significant improvements in their pain and daily activities.

To join the trial, you need to be an adult between 18 and 65 years old and have a diagnosis of chronic musculoskeletal pain lasting at least three months. You should be able to speak and understand Greek. However, this study is not for everyone—people with recent surgeries, certain medical conditions, or who are pregnant cannot participate. If you decide to take part, you'll receive specific treatment based on the group you're assigned to, and your progress will be monitored throughout the study. This trial is not yet recruiting participants, so there’s time to learn more if you’re interested.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Adults aged 18 to 65 years
• • Diagnosis of chronic musculoskeletal pain in the lumbar spine, cervical spine, shoulder, or knee
• • Pain duration longer than 3 months
• • Pain intensity ≥3/10 on the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS)
• • Pain present most days of the week
• • Able to understand and speak the Greek language
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Acute pain in any body region
• • Neurological disorders or myopathies
• • Chronic pain of non-musculoskeletal origin
• • Active cancer diagnosis
• • History of trauma, fractures, or surgery in the past year
• • Pregnancy
• • Diagnosis of fibromyalgia
• • Cognitive impairments affecting communication or completion of questionnaires
• • Current use of corticosteroid medication
• • Participation in other treatment programs or alternative therapies during the study period
• • Concurrent enrollment in another clinical trial