Development and feasibility testing of a Pain Neuroscience Education program for children with chronic pain: treatment protocol.

BACKGROUND Current treatment for adults with chronic pain often includes Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE) to make people understand the nature underlying their pain and thus provides a clear rational for a biopsychosocial approach. Despite recommendations to use Pain Neuroscience Education as well in children with chronic pain, a specific program, tailored to children aged 6-12 years is lacking. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to develop a Pain Neuroscience Education program for children with chronic pain and test its feasibility. METHODS First the internet and scientific literature was searched for sources (e.g., books, videos, etc.) that might be supportive in teaching children about the neurophysiology of pain. Based on this content, we developed a Pain Neuroscience Education program for children, 'PNE4Kids', which was tested for feasibility in three groups of healthy children (n=18; 9 girls and 9 boys) aged between 6 and 12 years old. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS This paper provides both scientists and clinicians with a specific program to explain the neurophysiology of pain to children with chronic pain, since it is past high time to use a modern neuroscience approach in this vulnerable population. Further research should examine the effectiveness of this developed PNE4Kids program on pain-related outcomes in children with chronic pain. Registration number: NCT02880332 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02880332).