Train the Brain: A new rehabilitation training model with integrated psychological training for treatment of joint injury

This randomized controlled trial will compare the efficacy of a novel and pragmatic rehabilitation training model, which aims to “Train the Brain”, and traditional rehabilitation in people with joint injury.

Traumatic knee injury is used as model, and the principles are adaptable for use in rehabilitation for other musculoskeletal conditions.An interdisciplinary team of researchers and clinicians developed a holistic intervention including both physical and psychological training methods – the Train the Brain model.

Train the Brain is unique in that it fully integrates and individualizes physical and psychological factors into physiotherapy practice.

Using shared decision-making, the physical therapist and patient discuss, design, execute and evaluate situation-based and individually meaningful exercises by integrating dynamic motor imagery into traditional training.

We hypothesize that 12 weeks of Train the Brain will improve patient-reported outcomes, objective muscle function, and functional neural activity to a greater extent than traditional rehabilitation.Traditional rehabilitation of joint injury focuses on physical training without structured psychological training and has typically at most moderate effect.

Our Train the Brain model constitutes a paradigm shift in physical therapist-led rehabilitation, including both physical and psychological aspects, and has potential to improve effectiveness by targeting motivation, motor re-learning, and fear of re-injury.