Applicability of pain neuroscience education: Where are we now?

Abstract

Explaining pain to patients through pain neuroscience education (PNE) is currently a widespread treatment studied in the musculoskeletal context. Presently, there is sufficient evidence supporting the effectiveness of PNE in patients with chronic musculoskeletal disorders. However, clinicians must pay attention to the actual possibility to transfer research findings in their specific clinical context. We analysed the applicability of results of studies focused on PNE, which has not been done previously. A detailed discussion on PNE applicability is provided, starting from published randomized controlled trials that investigated the effectiveness of PNE. This paper markedly points out the awareness of clinicians on the need for an accurate contextualization when choosing PNE as an intervention in clinical practice.