CMT CMT Pain Science & Patient Education 2

Question 1

Hyperalgesia differs from allodynia in that hyperalgesia involves:

Accepted Answer

An exaggerated pain response to a stimulus that is normally mildly painful

Answer

Hyperalgesia is an increased pain response to a stimulus that would normally cause mild pain, whereas allodynia is pain from a non-painful stimulus.

Question 2

When educating a patient with chronic low back pain, a CMT should emphasize that:

Accepted Answer

Movement is generally safe and pain does not always mean harm (hurt ≠ harm)

Answer

A core PNE message is 'hurt does not equal harm' — movement is generally safe for chronic pain and avoidance perpetuates disability.

Question 3

Endogenous pain inhibition (descending modulation) is primarily mediated by which neurotransmitters?

Accepted Answer

Serotonin, norepinephrine, and endogenous opioids

Answer

Descending pain inhibitory pathways use serotonin, norepinephrine, and endogenous opioids (enkephalins, endorphins) to modulate spinal nociception.

Question 4

Which psychological factor is most strongly associated with poor chronic pain outcomes in research?

Accepted Answer

Pain catastrophizing — rumination, magnification, and helplessness about pain

Answer

Pain catastrophizing (ruminating on pain, magnifying its threat, feeling helpless) is consistently the strongest psychological predictor of poor pain outcomes.

Question 5

The Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK) measures:

Accepted Answer

Fear of movement and re-injury in musculoskeletal pain patients

Answer

The TSK is a validated 17-item questionnaire measuring fear of movement and re-injury (kinesiophobia) in musculoskeletal pain populations.

(CMT) Certified Manual Therapist Practice Test

(CMT) Certified Manual Therapist Practice Test

CMT CMT Pain Science & Patient Education 2