Thanks to advances in neuroscience, we know that pain neuroscience education(PNE) helps to reduce central sensitisation. We adapted PNE to chronic low back pain patients. Measuring the allodynia surface is indicative of central sensitisation. We applied this method on low back pain to assess the effect of PNE.

Controlled and non-randomised single-blind study involving 31 adults having an average age of 43.74 years, recruited from the Regional University Hospital of Lille. A control group (CG) followed a multidisciplinary protocol during 4 weeks. An experimental group (EG) benefited, in addition to the protocol, of one hour of PNE. They must then fulfil a questionnaire in order to prepare an individual interview of twenty minutes during the 4th week. Allodynographies were performed during the 1st and 4th week and after 3 months.

The surfaces are very significantly decreased in the EG at 4 weeks while the CG shows no significant difference. After 3 months, the evolution of the surfaces is very significantly improved in both groups. On the other hand, between the allodynography performed at 4 weeks and at 3 months, the CG shows a very significant decrease of the surfaces, where the surface increases very slightly for the GE.

We have successfully adapted to chronic low back pain patients an allodynography technique that had already been tested in other studies. Compared with the CG patients, the PNE provided to EG patients significantly decreased low back paravertebral allodynia surface after 4 weeks but no further improvement was observed after 3 months. Further studies are needed to understand the reasons.