Reboot Online: A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing an Online Multidisciplinary Pain Management Program with Usual Care for Chronic Pain

Abstract

Objective: Chronic pain is a prevalent and burdensome condition. Reboot Online was developed to address treatment barriers traditionally associated with accessing face-to-face chronic pain management programs. It is a comprehensive multidisciplinary online treatment program, based on an existing and effective face-to-face multidisciplinary pain program (the Reboot program). Design & Participants: A CONSORT-compliant randomized controlled trial was conducted, enrolling adults who had experienced pain for three months or longer. Methods: Participants were randomly allocated to either an eight-lesson multidisciplinary pain management program, Reboot Online (N=41), or to a usual care (UC) control group (N=39). Clinical oversight was provided by a multidisciplinary team remotely, including physiotherapists and clinical psychologists. Participants were measured at baseline, post-treatment (week 16), and three-month follow-up (week 28). Results: Intention-to-treat analyses revealed that Reboot Online was significantly more effective than UC at increasing pain self-efficacy (g=0.69) at post-treatment, and these gains were maintained at follow-up. Similarly, Reboot Online was significantly more effective than UC on several secondary measures at post-treatment and follow-up, including movement-based fear avoidance and pain-related disability, but it did not significantly reduce pain interference or depression compared with UC. Clinician input was minimal, and adherence to Reboot Online was moderate, with 61% of participants (N=25) completing all eight lessons. Conclusions: Reboot Online presents a novel approach to multidisciplinary pain management and offers an accessible, efficacious alternative and viable treatment option for chronic pain management.