Research abstract:

Many patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and/or fibromyalgia (FM) have no understanding of their condition, leading to maladaptive pain cognitions and coping strategies.

These should be tackled during therapy, e.g. by providing pain neurophysiology education (PNE). Although the positive effects of PNE are well-established in chronic pain populations, it remains unclear why some patients benefit more than others.

Identifying predictive factors for therapy would add great value to clinical practice.

Kinesiophobia and maladaptive coping strategies prevent improvements in pain catastrophizing following pain neuroscience education in fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndrome: Pooled results from 2 randomized controlled trials, by A. Malfliet, J. Van Oosterwijck, M. Meeus, B. Cagnie, L. Danneels, M. Dolphens, R. Buyl, J. Nijs in Manual Therapy, September 2016