Importance of an education programme for patients with chronic widespread pain.

The structured education programme for patients with chronic widespread pain is the first stage of the interdisciplinary group-based rehabilitation programme for those patients at the University Rehabilitation Institute in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The aim of our pilot study was to investigate the impact of the education programme on the patients' attribution of pain as dangerous. Ninety-three participants with chronic widespread pain volunteered for the study. They were first screened to verify whether they were suitable for inclusion in the rehabilitation programme. They filled in the Pain Catastrophizing Scale and the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia as part of the screening and after the education programme. The results showed a statistically significantly reduced fear of movement and catastrophizing. Hence, the education programme appears to be achieving its goals.