The Relationship between Pain Neuroscience Education, Chronic and Acute Pain and Attention to Pain in Patients undergoing Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Promising results have been found for the effectiveness of Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE) in reducing several types of pain. The current study aims to investigate the effectiveness of PNE in reducing acute knee pain following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and attention to pain, as well as investigating the relationships between attention to pain and chronic and acute knee pain. Lastly, this study aims to identify risk factors for high levels of acute pain after TKA. The current randomized controlled trial (RCT) is a pilot study for a larger RCT. A total of 27 participants, of which 19 female and 8 male, (age M = 68.6, SD = 7.55) received either the standard care after TKA or standard care plus two individual PNE sessions. The results indicated no effectiveness of PNE in reducing acute knee pain or attention to pain. Also, the results found no correlation between attention to pain and chronic pain or acute pain and could not identify risk factors for high levels of acute pain. However, the current study provides a conceptual model and indications which can be used in future research.