Can pain processing at baseline predict changes in pain and functional capacity after 8-week of exercise in individuals with low back pain?

• Grant number: 24/05479-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate (Direct)
• Start date: November 27, 2024
• End date: June 09, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy
• Principal Investigator: Luiz Fernando Approbato Selistre
• Grantee: Giovanna Laura Neves Antonio Gaban
• Supervisor: Henrik Bjarke Vaegter
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Southern Denmark (SDU), Denmark
• Associated to the scholarship: 23/06121-6 - EFFECT OF SPECIFIC AND NON-SPECIFIC EXERCISES ON PAIN PROCESSING IN INDIVIDUALS WITH CHRONIC NON-SPECIFIC NECK PAIN: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED CLINICAL TRIAL, BP.DD

Abstract

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Burden of Disease study, low back pain (LBP) is one of the most disabling conditions worldwide. Exercise therapy is among the recommended treatments, however, systematic reviews typically show a small effect size, suggesting either modest overall effectiveness or significant variability in individual responses to exercise. The reason for variability in response to exercise remains unclear, but it could be linked to a shift in the balance between pro-nociceptive and anti-nociceptive pain mechanisms. In a previous longitudinal study, Prof. Vaegter (Supervisor from Research group abroad) collected data on pro-nociceptive and anti-nociceptive pain mechanisms before and after an 8-weeks exercise intervention at a pain rehabilitation center in nearly 100 patients with LBP. Information was also collected on clinical pain and functional capacity, and these data now provide a unique opportunity to explore whether pro-nociceptive and anti-nociceptive pain mechanisms at baseline are associated with changes in clinical pain and functional capacity after an 8-weeks exercise intervention in patients with LBP.Methods: Several measures of pain sensitivity has been collected, including pressure pain threshold and tolerance at different body sites and with different techniques, pro-nociceptive pain mechanisms including temporal summation of pain and pain during movement, and anti-nociceptive pain mechanisms including exercise-induced hypoalgesia using the 6 Minute Walking Test (6MWT). Clinical pain (on a 0-10 numerical rating scale) and functional capacity (walking distance on 6MWT) were assessed before and after the 8-weeks exercise intervention. Linear regression analysis with backward selection will be used and the model will be adjusted for gender, age and pain duration.