• Wouter Van Bogaert, Eva Huysmans, Iris Coppieters, Jo Nijs, Koen Putman, Kelly Ickmans, Maarten Moens, Lisa Goudman, Lara Stas, and Ronald Buyl.
• Pain in Motion Research Group (PAIN), Department of Physiotherapy, Human Physiology and Anatomy, Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; Department of Public Health (GEWE), Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO), Brussels, Belgium; Department of Physical Medicine and Physiotherapy, University Hospital Brussels, Brussels, Belgium.
• J Pain. 2024 Aug 1; 25 (8): 104521104521.

AbstractThough perioperative pain neuroscience education (PPNE) positively influences patients' surgical outcomes, little is known about the mechanisms behind this treatment's success. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the potential mediating role of pain cognitions and pain sensitivity in the treatment effect of PPNE on postoperative quality of life in people undergoing surgery for lumbar radiculopathy. This secondary analysis uses data from 120 participants of a randomized controlled trial who were randomized to receive either PPNE or perioperative biomedical education before undergoing surgery for lumbar radiculopathy. Quality of life was assessed 1-year postsurgery using the short form 36-item health survey (SF36) physical and mental component scores. Potential mediators included pain cognitions (ie, kinesiophobia, pain catastrophizing, and hypervigilance) and pain sensitivity (ie, endogenous nociceptive modulation), assessed 6 weeks postsurgery. Mediation models were constructed using structural equation modeling, and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using 10,000 bootstrap samples. Analyses show a significant total effect for PPNE (estimate = .464, 95% CI [.105, .825]) and a significant indirect effect via pain catastrophizing on the SF36 physical component (estimate = .124, 95% CI [.001, .293]). No mediating effect was found through the remaining pain cognitions or pain sensitivity measures. Also, no potential mediators were identified for the treatment effect of PPNE on the SF36 mental component. Our findings suggest that pain catastrophizing mediates the treatment effect of PPNE on physical health-related quality of life in people undergoing surgery for lumbar radiculopathy. PERSPECTIVE: This secondary analysis identified pain catastrophizing as a mediator for PPNE in people undergoing surgery for lumbar radiculopathy. More so, its findings indicate that this educational intervention can enhance the postoperative physical health-related quality of life of these patients by addressing their catastrophizing thoughts. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02630732).Copyright © 2024 United States Association for the Study of Pain, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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