The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of the physiotherapist's communication on the clinical presentation of patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain.
Participants should speak and understand the Greek language, as the questionnaires and the video will be in Greek
Participants should experience pain in one of the following four different areas: cervical or lumbar spine, knee, or shoulder
Pain of musculoskeletal origin
Pain lasting more than 3 months, evident on most days of the week to be classified as chronic pain, with a pain intensity of at least 3/10 Numeric Pain Rating Scale.
Medication for neurological/psychiatric disorders
Pain medication on the day agreed upon with the researcher, in order to minimize the potential influence of medication
Undergoing surgery in the last six months
Pregnancy or childbirth before 1 year
Parallel
Video about pain neuroscience education with enhancing communication skills
Other interventionParticipants will watch a brief video on pain neuroscience in which physiotherapist will show evidence-based communication skills to effectively convey information to patients.
Video about pain neuroscience education without enhancing communication skills
Other interventionParticipants will watch a brief video on pain neuroscience in which physiotherapist will not show evidence-based communication skills to effectively convey information to patients.
NPRS: Numeric Pain Rating Scale
The Numeric Pain Rating Scale will be utilized to evaluate the severity of pain. Participants will provide a score ranging from 0 (indicating no pain) to 10 (representing the most intense pain they have ever felt).
PPT: Pressure Pain Threshold
The Pain Pressure Threshold (PPT) is a method utilized to quantify the sensitivity of deep muscular tissues. In this measurement, an algometer is commonly employed to apply pressure to a specific area, and the point at which a gradually increasing pressure becomes painful is noted. In the context of PPT, lower values are indicative of heightened sensitivity, suggesting that the individual experiences pain at a lower pressure threshold. Therefore, lower PPT values are interpreted as an indication of increased sensitivity in the deep muscular tissues.
Pain Distribution
The Pain Distribution App (PDA) will be employed to document the location of pain. This self-reported tool is designed to evaluate the distribution and extent of pain across different areas of the body. The reliability of the PDA has been previously demonstrated.
CSI: Central Sensitisation Inventory
The Central Sensitisation Inventory (CSI) serves as a self-report tool aimed at identifying individuals with symptoms potentially linked to Central Sensitisation. The inventory consists of two parts. Part A involves 25 questions related to common Central Sensitisation Syndrome (CSS) symptoms. Patients rate each question on a scale from 0 (never) to 4 (always). A total score exceeding 40 suggests the presence of central sensitisation. In Part B, patients indicate if they have received a diagnosis for specific CSS disorders or related conditions, such as anxiety and depression. Notably, only the scores from Part A are considered in the assessment.
BIPQ: Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire
The Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (B-IPQ) functions as an assessment tool for examining cognitive and emotional perceptions of illness. Comprising eight items, this questionnaire evaluates cognitive illness representation, emotional illness representation, and illness comprehensibility representation. Scoring involves rating each item on a scale from 0 to 10, where higher scores signify a more threatening perception of the illness. The total B-IPQ score is obtained by summing the scores of all eight items, resulting in a potential range of 0 to 80. Elevated scores on this scale indicate a more negative or distressing perception of the illness.
PCS: Pain Catastrophizing Scale
The 13-item scale is structured around three dimensions: rumination over pain, magnification of pain, and helplessness in the face of pain symptoms. Both the total score and subscale scores for the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) are calculated by adding up the ratings for each item. In this study, the focus is on the total score, which ranges from 0 to 52, with higher scores indicating a higher level of pain catastrophizing.
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