Neuroscience Education in Shoulder Pain: Clinical Trial

The Efficacy of a Pain Neuroscience Education Programme in Shoulder Pain: a Randomised Clinical Trial

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of a pain neuroscience education programme applied to patients with shoulder pain.

A randomised controlled trial was performed. Fifty-five patients satisfied eligibility criteria, agreed to participate, and were randomized into an experimental group (n = 27) or control group (n =28). A manual therapy and exercises program was administered for both groups. In addition, a pain neuroscience education protocol was administered for the experimental group for a whole period of 4 weeks (1 session/week, 75mins per session).

Inclusion Criteria:

• Being 18-70 years of age.
• History of shoulder pain of more than 3 months duration.
• Presence of a painful arc
• Medical diagnosis of shoulder pain with at least 2 positive impingement tests including Neer, Hawkins, or Jobe test

Exclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis of fibromyalgia.
• Pregnancy.
• A history of traumatic onset of shoulder pain.
• Other histories of shoulder injury.
• Torn tendons.
• Ligamentous laxity based on a positive Sulcus and apprehension tests.
• Numbness or tingling in the upper extremity.
• Previous shoulder or cervical spine surgery.
• Systemic illness.
• Corticosteroid injection on the shoulder within 1 year of the study.
• Physical therapy 6 months before the study.