Physiological Impact of Different Types of Osteoarthritis Education.

NCT ID: NCT06400329

Last Updated: 2025-09-25

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

37 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2024-08-15

Study Completion Date

2025-09-22

Brief Summary

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In this study, the investigators are comparing two types of education for older adults with knee osteoarthritis: standard biomedical education focusing on the disease process, and a newer approach called pain neuroscience education (PNE), which teaches about the complexity of pain and dispels myths. While PNE has shown benefits in self-reported pain and function, little is known about its effects on physiological responses to pain.

the investigators will measure physiological indicators, particularly activity in the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which is closely linked to pain. Dysregulation in the ANS is common in chronic pain conditions like osteoarthritis. Our study aims to assess the feasibility of comparing these education methods and explore differences in physiological responses, as well as self-reported outcomes like cognitive and emotional factors.

Our goals are to determine if the study protocol is feasible, assess participants' acceptance of the assessment procedures, and explore differences in physiological markers and self-reported outcomes between the two education groups. Ultimately, the investigators aim to understand how different educational approaches may affect nervous system processing in older adults with knee osteoarthritis. the investigators hypothesize that those receiving PNE will show less autonomic arousal and nervous system sensitivity compared to those receiving standard education.

Detailed Description

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Education and understanding of musculoskeletal (MSK) pain is known to be important for individuals and can improve patient outcomes (i.e. pain and function)(1). Many years ago, it became apparent that there was a vast disconnect between the scientific understanding of pain (i.e. its protective function, its complexity, and the most effective ways of treating it) and the current understanding of 'how pain works' held by patients and health professionals alike(2), one that was entrenched in an outdated biomedical model. Traditionally education has focused on the disease process which can have a negative impact with its language and images due to its focus on structural pathology.(3) Additionally, despite the known benefits of certain interventions e.g. exercise for MSK disorders, people may be wrongly advised that too much exercise could cause joint pain and damage.(4) Many of these poorly construed messages are due to a lack of understanding of the impact of such language, the complexity of the pain experience, and its lack of correlation with what the investigators now consider to be normal age-related changes seen on imaging.(2) The aim of intensive education about pain neuroscience was to give credibility to the best treatments available - active, psychological and self-management skills by providing a modern understanding of how pain works with the hope of giving power and agency to individuals to make optimal decisions about how to manage their health situation. Simply put, PNE aimed to enable and empower patients to adopt a biopsychosocial understanding of their problem and thereby pursue a biopsychosocial-based approach to overcoming it.(2) PNE involves the process of educating individuals about the complexity of pain and how our bodies process pain. It also seeks to dispel many of the myths long held by the public regarding MSK disorders(5). Despite PNE showing consistent positive effects on self-reported pain and function, there has been a growing debate in the literature regarding its value(6,7) Interestingly, there has been little to no evaluation of how differing approaches to education impacts people's physiological reactions and nervous system processing of pain. This project will fill that gap by providing unique understanding of how the type of educational content provided to older adults with knee osteoarthritis may impact their nervous system functioning and processing of pain.

Measuring pain remains a challenge, especially from a psycho-physiological aspect(8). Among various physiological indicators, the activity of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), specifically its sympathetic and parasympathetic subdivisions, is closely associated with pain (9). Enhanced activity in the sympathetic nervous system leads to increased electrodermal activity (sweating), respiration rate, heart rate, blood pressure, vascular vasoconstriction, and pupil dilation. In states of chronic pain, the autonomic nervous system may experience dysregulation, often resulting in diminished autonomic responsiveness to painful or stressful stimuli. Autonomic dysfunction has been observed in various chronic conditions, including knee osteoarthritis(10), low back pain(9), rheumatoid arthritis(11), and fibromyalgia(12). Targeting the dysregulated autonomic nervous system could potentially restore balance to stress response systems and alleviate systemic inflammation. The purpose of this pilot study will be to evaluate 1) the feasibility of a study protocol to investigate if there are differences in physiological responses associated with exposure to different types of knee osteoarthritis educational content. 2) to explore differences in the physiological responses between exposure to pain neuroscience education and standard biomedical education and 3) to explore differences in self-reported cognitive, emotional and functional outcomes and the physiological responses in each intervention arm

Conditions

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Osteoarthritis Chronic Pain

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Participants
Participants will be blinded to study hypotheses and the two treatment groups. As both arms of the study are providing education-based interventions, participants will be provided limited details of each intervention arm so as to blind them from knowing which is the intervention and which is the control. This will help minimize any bias that occurs by knowledge of group assignment and perception of treatment effects.

Study Groups

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Pain neuroscience education

The educational content will be presented to the participants at a computer station in the format of a website to navigate to simulate the experience and information that they may come across while browsing the internet for information about knee OA. The content will include 4 components, regardless of the education type. These components include knee osteoarthritis (OA)-related images, facts and myths, disease related concepts, and patient-doctor statements. The distinction between the two educational approaches lies in how information is presented. PNE focuses more on the neurophysiology of pain and approaches it from the perspective that knee OA pain is manageable, using neutral to positive language and emphasizes the importance of physical function and staying active. After the educational content is delivered, the participants will be shown the content again and will be asked to talk aloud about each page that they were shown.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Pain Neuroscience Education

Intervention Type OTHER

PNE focuses more on the neurophysiology of pain and approaches it from the perspective that knee OA pain is manageable, using neutral to positive language and emphasizes the importance of physical function and staying active

Biomedical education

In Standard Pain Education, the emphasis is on the structural pathology of knee OA and the outdated but common understanding of the disease process as a degenerative one, potentially conveying negative and threatening language.

After the educational content is delivered, the participants will be shown the content again and will be asked to talk aloud about each page that they were shown.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Standard Pain Education

Intervention Type OTHER

In Standard Pain Education, the emphasis is on the structural pathology of knee OA and the outdated but common understanding of the disease process as a degenerative one, potentially conveying negative and threatening language

Interventions

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Pain Neuroscience Education

PNE focuses more on the neurophysiology of pain and approaches it from the perspective that knee OA pain is manageable, using neutral to positive language and emphasizes the importance of physical function and staying active

Intervention Type OTHER

Standard Pain Education

In Standard Pain Education, the emphasis is on the structural pathology of knee OA and the outdated but common understanding of the disease process as a degenerative one, potentially conveying negative and threatening language

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* ≥ 55-85years old
* community dwelling adults with a diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis or fulfilling the NICE criteria for knee OA
* activity-related joint pain
* either no morning joint-related stiffness or morning stiffness that lasts no longer than 30 minutes

Exclusion Criteria

* those who have received prior PNE
* those who have eye glasses prescription exceeding +/- 6 for spherical correction and/or +3 for astigmatism
Minimum Eligible Age

55 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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Lisa Carlesso

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Lisa Carlesso

Associate Professor, PT PhD

Responsibility Role SPONSOR_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Lisa Carlesso, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

McMaster University

Locations

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McMaster University

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Site Status

Countries

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Canada

References

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Other Identifiers

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HiREB-16902

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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