Group pain neuroscience education combined with supervised exercises reduces pain and improves function of Brazilian women with central sensitisation and a low level of education: a single-subject study

Purpose: The purpose of this single-subject experimental study was to describe the patient’s outcome following pain neuroscience education in combination with therapeutic exercise for Brazilian women with central sensitisation and a low level of education.

Methods: Eight Brazilian women with central sensitisation and a low level of education were screened from a total of 57 patients with musculoskeletal disorders in an outpatient physiotherapy department. Twelve sessions were performed, once a week, including group pain education and supervised exercises. The outcome measures of pain intensity, functionality, catastrophizing, kinesiophobia, quality of life, knowledge of pain physiology and global improvement rating were collected pre- and post-intervention.

Results: There was an improvement in pain (before median = 8.5, after median = 5.0; Z = −2.032, p = .042) and functionality (before median = 2.5, after median = 5.6; Z = −2.366, p = .018) at post-intervention evaluation measured by the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. A meaningful improvement was observed in global perceived effect. There were no statistically significant differences for other outcomes.

Conclusion: Following a combination of pain neuroscience education with therapeutic exercise, Brazilian women with central sensitisation and a low level of education showed pain relief and improved function. Nonetheless, psychosocial factors, knowledge of pain and quality of life did not improve with the intervention.