Pain Neuroscience Education, Motor Imagery Exercise, or Both for Fibromyalgia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants who see adults with fibromyalgia or other persistent widespread pain and want a plain-language account of what one randomized trial found when pain neuroscience education, a motor imagery exercise protocol, or the two combined were delivered over 12 weeks. Athletic trainers, occupational therapists, and other rehabilitation clinicians who read chronic pain literature will also find the report usable.

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants; other licensed rehabilitation professionals working with adults who have persistent widespread pain.

Intended audience

Physical Therapy

Level

Intermediate

Delivery format

Online, asynchronous, self-paced course: interactive reading with audio or video, and a scored post-test.

Based on

This course reports on a single randomized controlled trial. Every finding, number, and conclusion presented in the podcast and in the written report is drawn from this one paper; no outside evidence has been added.

Kircali S, Özcan ÖÖ, Karahan M. Pain neuroscience education and motor imagery-based exercise protocol for patients with fibromyalgia: A randomized controlled trial. Brain Behav. 2024;14(9):e70013. doi:10.1002/brb3.70013. PMID: 39262170; PMCID: PMC11391019.

Scope of the evidence

This was a small, single-center trial with four groups and 50 participants in total, followed for 12 weeks. The authors themselves describe the sample as small and call for larger studies, so the course reports the findings as one trial’s results rather than as settled evidence.

After completing this course, you will be able to:

1. Describe the population, the four study groups, and the two interventions tested in this randomized controlled trial of pain neuroscience education and a motor imagery-based exercise protocol for fibromyalgia.
2. State what the trial found for pain intensity in the combined group, in each single-intervention group, and in the untreated control group over 12 weeks.
3. Explain which secondary outcomes moved with each intervention, which did not change, and the limits the authors placed on their own conclusions.

1. Start Here: how this course works and what the source study is
2. Podcast: What the Trial Asked and What It Found (about eight minutes)
3. Fibromyalgia, Motor Imagery, and Pain Education: The Question Behind the Trial
4. Inside the Trial: Four Groups, Twelve Weeks, and How the Sessions Ran
5. What Changed: Pain, Pain Beliefs, Body Awareness, and Mood
6. Where the Trial Falls Short: Small Groups, One Center, Short Horizon
7. What the Authors Concluded and How It Might Read in the Clinic
8. Key Takeaways
9. Post-Test and Course Evaluation

Quinn Millington, PT, DPT, ECS is the instructor of record: the licensed clinician who reviewed this course and signed off on it. The name and credentials print on the certificate.

Disclosures. This course was developed by The ConEd Solution, which has a financial interest in its sale. No outside funding or sponsorship was received. The instructor of record has no affiliation with the authors of the source publication or their institutions.

This course awards 0.5 contact hours (30 min). How you earn them:

1. Complete the course. Every lesson, in order.
2. Pass the post-test. Score 80% or higher. Retakes are allowed.
3. Complete the evaluation. A short form rating each learning objective and the course.
4. Download your certificate. It is issued on completion and stays available in My Account.

The episode time is its measured length. Reading, post-test and evaluation times are estimates.

This course is designed to satisfy the quality requirements state boards set for continuing education. Requirements vary by state, and confirming that a course fits your renewal is up to you. Each state’s own acceptance statement is in the credit panel on this page.

1. This course reports on a single randomized controlled trial. Every finding, number, and conclusion presented in the podcast and in the written report is drawn from this one paper; no outside evidence has been added.
2. Kircali S, Özcan ÖÖ, Karahan M. Pain neuroscience education and motor imagery-based exercise protocol for patients with fibromyalgia: A randomized controlled trial. Brain Behav. 2024;14(9):e70013. doi:10.1002/brb3.70013. PMID: 39262170; PMCID: PMC11391019.
3. Scope of the evidence
4. This was a small, single-center trial with four groups and 50 participants in total, followed for 12 weeks. The authors themselves describe the sample as small and call for larger studies, so the course reports the findings as one trial's results rather than as settled evidence.