Effectiveness of Pain Neuroscience Education in Women With Menstrual Pain

NCT ID: NCT06732778

Last Updated: 2025-02-17

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 74 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2024-10-01
• Study Completion Date: 2025-02-01

Brief Summary

Menstruation is the bleeding that starts with menarche and continues until menopause, along with hormonal changes in women of reproductive age, and is shed as the endometrium matures and is shed. Menstruation, which covers 30-35 years of a woman's life and occurs regularly every month, is a physiological process. Menstrual cycle problems are a condition that affects health and society all over the world and causes treatment to be sought. It is one of the most common menstrual cycle problems.

Dysmenorrhea is used synonymously with menstrual pain in clinics and practice. It is stated that approximately 40-50% of women experience dysmenorrhea and that it is more common in adolescents. Dysmenorrhea is a symptom that causes changes in women's physical activities and social roles, leading to a decrease in their quality of life. Dysmenorrhea usually manifests itself with symptoms such as pain and cramps in the back and lower abdomen, as well as nausea, vomiting, fatigue, irritability, appetite changes, diarrhea, and headache.

According to the literature, among the choices of women to cope with dysmenorrhea, manipulative and body-based practices (massage, relaxation exercises, acupuncture, aromatherapy, hot-cold applications, etc.), mind-body-based practices (meditation, yoga, hypnotherapy, hypnosis, music therapy, etc.), vitamin-mineral supplements and herbal therapies (vitamins B and E, magnesium, zinc, fennel/rose tea, black cohosh, etc.) and exercise programs are seen to be effective.

Detailed Description

The first concepts of pain neuroscience education emerged in 2002 in a randomized controlled trial conducted by Lorimer Moseley for patients with low back pain. PNE has been given various names, including but not limited to pain biology education, pain neurophysiology education, neuroscientific pain education, and neuroscience education. In general, PNE is an educational intervention that aims to explain to the patient the neurophysiology of pain, nervous system sensitivity, nervous system plasticity, and psychosocial factors that contribute to the experience of persistent pain. This is accomplished through a series of intertreatment educational modules spread over a term. The modules include exposure to visual aids, examples, and metaphors to enhance patient understanding. The duration and frequency of educational sessions are not uniform in the literature; they range from 30 minutes to 4 hours. Pain neuroscience education connects the pathoanatomical model of tissue damage with the neurophysiological and psychosocial factors inherent in the experience of persistent pain. The goal is to help patients reconceptualize their pain experience by providing educational content that can reduce focus on anatomic damage, decrease fear avoidance, reduce kinesiophobia, and improve self-efficacy. The exact dosage, frequency, and content of a PNE intervention vary.

There are studies in the literature examining the effectiveness of PNE in chronic low back pain, chronic whiplash injury, chronic fatigue syndrome, and the postoperative and preoperative periods of lumbar surgery. No study was found using the pain neuroscience education method in clients with menstrual period pain.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of pain neuroscience education on pain and quality of life in women with menstrual period pain.

Conditions

Pain Management; Dysmenorrhea (Disorder)

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: TRIPLE

Study Groups

Pain neuroscience education group (PNE)

The cases in this group will be given online PNE training one week before menstruation.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE)

Intervention Type: OTHER

PNE was planned online for clients 1 week before menstruation in the form of speaking sessions in a presentation format. The training will be conveyed in relation to pain during menstruation. Visual aids, examples and metaphors will be used to improve patient understanding in the training. Ankle sprain picture, speeding bus picture, action potential picture, picture showing membrane resting potential, rusty nail picture, whole body nervous system picture, neuromatrix picture, lion and lion cub picture that helps explain stress responses, curious neighbors picture etc. will be used. The training session is planned to last between 2 and 4 hours.

The distribution of pain neuroscience training topics will be implemented in the order given below, with 10 main headings.

• Pain and the Biopsychosocial Model
• Injury and pain are not equivalent, pain is a brain output rather than an input
• Action potential, normal electrical activity of nerves and conduction
• Biological process of ion chann

Control Group (CG)

No training or application will be given to the control group

Group Type: OTHER

Control Group (CG)

Intervention Type: OTHER

The control group will not receive any training or practice.

Interventions

Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE)

PNE was planned online for clients 1 week before menstruation in the form of speaking sessions in a presentation format. The training will be conveyed in relation to pain during menstruation. Visual aids, examples and metaphors will be used to improve patient understanding in the training. Ankle sprain picture, speeding bus picture, action potential picture, picture showing membrane resting potential, rusty nail picture, whole body nervous system picture, neuromatrix picture, lion and lion cub picture that helps explain stress responses, curious neighbors picture etc. will be used. The training session is planned to last between 2 and 4 hours.

The distribution of pain neuroscience training topics will be implemented in the order given below, with 10 main headings.

• Pain and the Biopsychosocial Model
• Injury and pain are not equivalent, pain is a brain output rather than an input
• Action potential, normal electrical activity of nerves and conduction
• Biological process of ion chann

Intervention Type: OTHER

Control Group (CG)

The control group will not receive any training or practice.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Being over 18 years of age,
• Not having a previous pregnancy,
• Not having a history of pelvic infections
• Not using hormonal contraception and intrauterine devices,
• Having a menstrual period of 3-8 days and a menstrual cycle interval of 21-35 days,
• Being willing to participate in the study.

Exclusion Criteria

• Being under 18 years of age,
• Having a previous pregnancy,
• Having a history of pelvic infections
• Using hormonal contraception and intrauterine devices,
• Not having a menstrual period of 3-8 days and a menstrual cycle interval of 21-35 days,
• Not being willing to participate in the study.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: FEMALE
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Uskudar University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

osman coban

Asst. Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

osman coban, Asst Prof.

Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR

Uskudar University

cigdem inkaya, PT

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Uskudar University

Locations

Uskudar University, Faculty of Health Sciences

Istanbul, , Turkey (Türkiye)

Countries

Turkey (Türkiye)

References

Zimney K, Van Bogaert W, Louw A. The Biology of Chronic Pain and Its Implications for Pain Neuroscience Education: State of the Art. J Clin Med. 2023 Jun 21;12(13):4199. doi: 10.3390/jcm12134199.

Reference Type: RESULT

PMID: 37445234 (View on PubMed)

O'Connor M, Sillevis R, Erickson MR. Pain Neuroscience Education Delivered by a Student Physical Therapist for a Patient with Persistent Musculoskeletal Pain. Am J Case Rep. 2021 Aug 16;22:e932212. doi: 10.12659/AJCR.932212.

Reference Type: RESULT

PMID: 34398869 (View on PubMed)

Louw A, Farrell K, Choffin B, Foster B, Lunde G, Snodgrass M, Sweet R, Weitzel M, Wilder R, Puentedura EJ. Immediate effect of pain neuroscience education for recent onset low back pain: an exploratory single arm trial. J Man Manip Ther. 2019 Dec;27(5):267-276. doi: 10.1080/10669817.2019.1624006. Epub 2019 Jun 4.

Reference Type: RESULT

PMID: 31161919 (View on PubMed)

Sillevis R, Trincado G, Shamus E. The immediate effect of a single session of pain neuroscience education on pain and the autonomic nervous system in subjects with persistent pain, a pilot study. PeerJ. 2021 May 31;9:e11543. doi: 10.7717/peerj.11543. eCollection 2021.

Reference Type: RESULT

PMID: 34131526 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

Uskudaruniversity5

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id