Pain Neurophysiology Education for Sport Therapy Students

The Effect of Pain Neurophysiology Education on Sport Therapy Students Knowledge, Attitudes and Clinical Behaviour Towards Athletes With Chronic Pain: a Randomised Control Trial

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT03002181

Enrollment

Registered

2016-12-23

Start date

2016-10-31

Completion date

2016-11-30

Last updated

2016-12-23

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Attitude, Behavior, Knowledge

Brief summary

The effect of a 70 minute Pain Neurophysiology Education session on Sport Therapy Students Knowledge, Attitudes and Clinical Behaviour Towards Athletes With Chronic Pain

Detailed description

This single-blind, randomised control trial aims to investigate the effect of a brief 70 minute Pain Neurophysiology Education session on sport therapy students knowledge, attitudes and clinical behaviour towards athletes with chronic pain. Participants will be selected from first year undergraduate and postgraduate sport therapy cohorts. Random number generator will assign participants into two subgroups. Group 1 will receive a control education on clinical 'red flags'. Red flags are questions that are routinely asked by therapists in clinical practice to screen for sinister pathology. Group 2 will receive education called 'Pain Neurophysiology Education' (taken from the Explain Pain publication). This mode of education uses the neurophysiology of pain to explain the experience, and has been used as an educational tool for patient, healthcare practitioners and students alike. Data collection (completion of three questionnaires) will take place immediately prior, and immediately after each education session. The change in these outcomes pre and post intervention will subsequently be compared between groups.

Interventions

OTHEREducation

70 minute education session.

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Masking

DOUBLE (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* 1st year undergraduate sport therapy students * 1st year postgraduate, pre-registration sport therapy students * Enrolled at Teesside University, UK.

Exclusion criteria

* Previous detailed pain education on either PNE or Red Flags.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Pain Neurophysiology Quiz. (knowledge)	Outcome measure assessed IMMEDIATELY post intervention, on the same day. NO FOLLOW UP.	A 13 point validated questionnaire assessing participant knowledge of contemporary pain knowledge.
The Health Care Pain Attitudes and Impairment Relationship Scale. (attitudes)	Outcome measure assessed IMMEDIATELY post intervention, on the same day. NO FOLLOW UP.	A 13 item validated likert-scale questionnaire to measure health care professionals attitudes towards the ability of patients with pain to function despite their pain.
Clinical Vignette. (clinical recommendations)	Outcome measure assessed IMMEDIATELY post intervention, on the same day. NO FOLLOW UP.	A case vignette is a validated proxy measure of clinical behaviour, and is assessed by multiple choice recommendations following a case scenario. This recommendations are weighted as either 'appropriate' or 'inappropriate' based on current clinical guidelines.

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026