Spreading the word: pediatric pain education from treatment to prevention.
Kelly Ickmans, Emma Rheel, Juliana Rezende and 1 others
PMID 36376953WHAT IT FOUND
Pain education for children shows mixed early results, with some studies finding improvements in knowledge and fear, while others showed no change in pain intensity.
It is currently an emerging field requiring further high-quality trials.
Key findings
01In healthy children, a pain education video increased pain knowledge and heat pain thresholds, but did not change experienced pain intensity, fear, or catastrophizing.
02In adolescents with chronic neck pain, a combined approach of pain education and exercise therapy demonstrated feasibility and beneficial effects on endurance capacity and pain knowledge compared to no intervention.
03School-based pain education can lead to positive behavioral outcomes, such as less pain medication use, particularly when initial sessions are supplemented by video booster sessions.
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
This is a narrative review, not a systematic review or meta-analysis, so it does not provide a pooled estimate of effect. The field is in its infancy, with very few high-quality randomized controlled trials in children. Many of the cited studies are pilot or proof-of-concept trials with small sample sizes. There is a lack of culturally adapted materials for non-Western populations. Long-term effects of pediatric pain education on adult chronic pain outcomes are unknown.
Declared interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that pain education alone is a proven effective treatment for pediatric chronic pain. The evidence is mixed and largely based on small pilot studies or combined interventions. It is an emerging area requiring further research, not a standard of care with established efficacy.