OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of an online standard prenatal education (SPE) intervention with the addition of pain neuroscience education (PNE) in women with pregnancy-related lumbopelvic pain, compared to SPE intervention alone on pain intensity, disability, kinesiophobia, physical activity, pain catastrophizing, anxiety, and depression.
DESIGN: A multicenter randomized controlled trial was designed.
SETTING: It was conducted in the Gynecology and Obstetrics departments of 3 hospitals in the Valencian Community, Spain.
SUBJECTS: A total of 211 participants were randomly assigned to either the SPE + PNE group (n = 111) or the SPE-only group (n = 100).
METHODS: Participants were randomly assigned to receive either 12 written SPE lessons or 12 written SPE lessons plus 12 audiovisual PNE lessons over 1 month.
RESULTS: Post-intervention between-group differences were observed in pain intensity (mean difference = -0.5, 95% CI, -1.0 to 0.0; P = .05) and kinesiophobia (mean difference = -1.4, 95% CI, -2.3 to -0.4; P = .005), both favoring the SPE + PNE group, while within-group improvements were found in disability and pain catastrophizing in both groups.
CONCLUSIONS: Incorporating PNE into SPE may offer additional benefits, particularly in reducing pain intensity and kinesiophobia in women with pregnancy-related lumbopelvic pain.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: It was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov under the identification number NCT05976854 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05976854). Patient enrolment began on August 10, 2023.
| Discipline Area | Score |
|---|---|
| Physician |  |
, McMaster University