Limitations of the study
chronic pain
CHRONIC PAIN, BLIND
The present study results need to be interpreted considering its limitations. Assessors were not blind to the intervention received by each participant, which could have increased type I errors. Only immediate effects were assessed. The lack of a previously established and validated protocol of AO therapy in the treatment of chronic pain places a critical question as to whether the protocol followed in this study had the appropriate duration. The participants’ attention or the ability to imagine the movement being observed were not assessed and these might be critical for the success of AO. Nevertheless, an effort was made to minimize distraction when participants were receiving the intervention by administering it in a quiet room with white walls and nothing more than the table where the computer was placed and the chair where the participant sat.