Pain neuroscience education: Which pain neuroscience education metaphor worked best?
Adriaan Louw, Emilio J Puentedura, Ina Diener and 2 others
PMID 31535053WHAT IT FOUND
Patients recovering from lumbar surgery rated eleven pain education metaphors as similarly helpful.
No single story stood out. The combination of all metaphors helped patients understand their pain, suggesting a flexible approach to education may work better than relying on one specific analogy.
Key findings
01No single pain education metaphor was rated as superior to others by patients one year after surgery.
02Patients rated the overall set of metaphors as helpful, with a median score of 3 on a 0-4 scale.
03The most highly rated individual metaphor was the concept that pain after surgery is normal and expected.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The sample size was very small (19 participants), which limits the reliability of the findings. The study relied on patient recall one year after the intervention, which may be inaccurate. The response rate was 70.3%, introducing potential selection bias. The findings apply only to patients who had lumbar surgery for radiculopathy, not to other pain conditions.
Declared interests
The authors declare no competing financial or personal relationships that could have influenced the work.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that the highest-rated metaphor is the most effective for all patients. The study was small and relied on recall, so it does not prove that any specific metaphor causes better outcomes. It only shows that patients found the entire package of stories helpful.