A physiotherapist-led group treatment for patients with chronic pain.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A physiotherapist-led, group-based intervention using Interactive Behavioural Modification Therapy (IBMT)for patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain.
IRAS ID
143694
Contact name
Abebaw Yohannes
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Manchester Metropolitan University
Research summary
It is estimated that one in eight people in the United Kingdom are living with moderate to severe pain which is interfering with their daily activities. The most common definition of chronic pain is pain that has been present for 3 months or longer. The findings of the English Pain Summit in 2012 suggest most people manage their pain well and adopt active coping strategies to enable them to continue with their activities. However, there are a significant proportion of patients who do not manage well and suffer with pain which impairs their quality of life, loss of income and increases physical disability. There is evidence to suggest that there is a relationship between psychological and behavioural factors in the development of disability and chronic pain.
There is growing evidence that physiotherapy management using a psychologically informed approach can be both effective in terms of improving health-related outcomes and patients treatment compliance. However the cost effectiveness for the NHS is inconclusive.
This study proposes to evaluate the effectiveness of a group based physiotherapist-led intervention for patients with chronic pain. Consenting participants will complete four patient reported outcome measures before, after and at 3-months following the group intervention to assess for both short and medium-term changes. They will also have a physical function test. This combination of assessment will give information on the physical and psychological factors in chronic pain.
The intervention will be conducted once a week for 3 hours over five consecutive weeks. The group intervention is designed to be interactive and covers a range of topics identified by the British pain society as useful for management of chronic pain. There is an exercise component to each session. The focus of the group is to work with the patient in their development of active coping strategies for their chronic pain.
REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/NW/0042
Date of REC Opinion
29 Jan 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion