Pain Neuroscience Education Alongside Physical Therapy for Chronic Pain

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants who treat adults with persistent musculoskeletal pain and want a short, evidence-focused summary of what happens when pain neuroscience education is added to usual physical therapy care.

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants in outpatient orthopedic, hospital-based, home health and community rehabilitation settings. Physical therapist assistants carry out education and exercise interventions under the direction of a supervising physical therapist; evaluation, diagnosis and plan-of-care decisions remain with the physical therapist.

Intended audience

Physical Therapy

Level

Introductory

Delivery format

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

Based on

Effectiveness of Pain Neuroscience Education in Physical Therapy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials, reported in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 statement.

All content in this course is drawn from that single source document. Where the authors reported an outcome, this course reports it in plain language. Where the authors said their confidence was limited, this course says so as well. No claim, figure or recommendation has been added from outside the source.

A note on scope

The review pooled trials that combined pain neuroscience education with a physical therapy modality. The authors themselves noted that further research is needed to separate the effect of pain neuroscience education combined with physiotherapy from physiotherapy alone.

After completing this course, you will be able to:

1. Describe what the systematic review and meta-analysis examined, including the intervention that was studied and the adults with chronic pain who were enrolled in the pooled trials.
2. State the direction of the pain, disability and psychological findings the authors reported after pain neuroscience education was combined with physical therapy.
3. Explain the limits the authors placed on their own conclusions, including the variability among the included studies and their call for standardized intervention protocols.

1. Start Here: How This Course Works
2. Podcast: Pain Neuroscience Education Alongside Physical Therapy (about nine minutes)
3. What the Review Asked and Who Was Studied
4. How the Trials Were Found, Screened and Judged
5. What Happened to Pain, Disability and Fear of Movement
6. Where the Evidence Is Loose
7. What the Authors Say This Could Mean in Practice
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. Effectiveness of Pain Neuroscience Education in Physical Therapy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials, reported in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 statement.
2. All content in this course is drawn from that single source document. Where the authors reported an outcome, this course reports it in plain language. Where the authors said their confidence was limited, this course says so as well. No claim, figure or recommendation has been added from outside the source.
3. A note on scope
4. The review pooled trials that combined pain neuroscience education with a physical therapy modality. The authors themselves noted that further research is needed to separate the effect of pain neuroscience education combined with physiotherapy from physiotherapy alone.