Table 2.
Steps in pain neuroscience education and in the cognitive-behavioural treatment for each outcome.
| Pain/Fatigue (Pain Neuroscience Education) | |
| 1 | Disassembling beliefs. |
| 2 | Concept of central nervous system and centre sensitization. |
| 3 | Concept of pain, fatigue, and pain system. |
| 4 | Acute pain vs chronic pain: Purpose of acute pain and how it originates in the nervous system. |
| 5 | Pain and damage. |
| 6 | Pain neuromatrix theory and virtual body representation. |
| 7 | Nociception, nociceptors, action potential, peripheral sensitization, synapses. |
| 8 | Descending/ascending pain pathways, spinal cord. |
| 9 | Danger signs: modulation and modification. |
| 10 | Hyperalgesia and allodynia, hypersensitivity of nervous central system. |
| 11 | The role of the brain, pain memory, pain perception, autoimmune evaluation error. |
| 12 | Etiology. |
| 13 | Relationship with stress and emotions. |
| 14 | Relationship with attention, perceptions, pain cognitions, and pain behaviour. |
| 15 | Neuroplasticity and how pain becomes chronic. |
| 16 | Re-education, graded activity, and exercise therapy |
| Self-Efficacy | |
| 1 | Understand the concept of self-efficacy. |
| 2 | Recognize the relationship between self-efficacy, pain, and fatigue. |
| 3 | Recognize the importance of adapting self-efficacy to real capacity. |
| 4 | Become aware of the process of self-efficacy elaboration. |
| 5 | Recognize the dynamics of self-efficacy. |
| 6 | Identify the sources of self-efficacy. |
| 7 | Identify the biases in the creation of self-efficacy. |
| 8 | Learn how to stop and replace the biases in the creation of self-efficacy. |
| 9 | Relationship between self-efficacy and self-esteem. |
| 10 | Transfer: How to work self-efficacy in day life. |
| Positive Affect | |
| 1 | Understand the concept of positive emotions. |
| 2 | Recognize the relationship between positive emotions, pain, and fatigue. |
| 3 | Recognize the importance of actively searching for sources of positive emotions. |
| 4 | Identify sources of positive emotions in the context of the sessions. |
| 5 | Learn to pay attention to stimuli/conditions that generate positive emotions. |
| 6 | Transfer: How to work positive affect in everyday life. |
| Negative Affect | |
| 1 | Understand the concept of negative emotions. |
| 2 | Recognize the relationship between negative emotions, pain, and fatigue. |
| 3 | Recognize the adaptive function of negative emotions. |
| 4 | Assess the importance of emotional regulation to reduce negative emotions. |
| 5 | Learn to pay attention to the stimuli/conditions that generate negative emotions. |
| 6 | Transfer: How to reduce negative affect to everyday life. |
| Emotional Regulation | |
| 1 | Understand the concept of emotional regulation. |
| 2 | Recognize the relationship between emotional regulation, pain, and fatigue. |
| 3 | Identify the 9 types of cognitive regulation of emotions. |
| 4 | Identify the relationship between emotional regulation, pain, and fatigue. |
| 5 | Learn to pay attention to emotional regulation. |
| 6 | Learn to identify the type of emotional regulation usually employed in everyday life. |
| 7 | Learn to stop and subtract inappropriate emotional regulation for a proper one. |
| 8 | Transfer: How to work emotional regulation in everyday life. |
| Catastrophising | |
| 1 | Understand the concept of catastrophism. |
| 2 | Recognize the relationship between catastrophism, pain, and fatigue. |
| 3 | Learn to recognize the catastrophic thoughts. |
| 4 | Learn to pay attention to the catastrophic thoughts. |
| 5 | Learn to stop and replace the catastrophic thoughts. |
| 6 | Transfer: How to work catastrophising on an everyday basis. |