Pain Neuroscience Education in Patients With Total Knee Arthroplasty

Investigation of the Efficacy of Neuroscience Pain Education in Patients With Total Knee Arthroplasty

The aim of Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE) is to explain to patients the biological and physiological processes involved in a pain experience and, more importantly, defocus the issues associated with the anatomical structures. PNE provides compelling evidence in reducing pain, disability, pain catastrophization, and limited physical movement in musculoskeletal problems. Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a very common painful musculoskeletal problem, especially in people over 50 years old, and lead to decrease in knee range of motion. Despite costly arthroscopic surgeries and long-term physiotherapy treatments, poor outcomes are common. The lack of satisfactory results suggests that some practices should be revised. Although PNE could be useful as an intervention, to our knowledge, there is no randomized controlled trial in the literature investigating the effects of PNE in patients with a KOA. Therefore, we aimed to examine the effectiveness of PNE on clinical outcomes in patients with KOA.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Having a body mass index between 19-40 kg/m2,
• Having had a unilateral TKA,
• Knee pain score to be 4 and above daily according to the visual analog scale,
• Ability to read, speak and understand Turkish.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Prosthesis disorders requiring re-surgery,
• Having visual, auditory and cognitive impairment,
• Secondary TKA such as rheumatoid arthritis,
• Acute pain,
• Pregnancy, drug and alcohol use,
• Having bilateral TKA,
• Not volunteering to participate in the study