Research on the Developmental Trajectory of Movement-Evoked Pain and Its Potential Predictors in Patients After Knee Arthroplasty.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the developmental trajectory of movement-evoked pain after knee arthroplasty and analyze the predictors of different developmental trajectory categories.

Patients and methods: In this study, a total of 178 patients undergoing knee arthroplasty were recruited from the Department of Joint Surgery at a tertiary care hospital in China. Participants completed the General Data Questionnaire, the Social Support Revaluated Scale, and the Pain Catastrophizing Scale on the day before surgery (T1). Movement-evoked pain was assessed using the Pain Numerical Rating Scale at 24 hours (T2), 48 hours (T3), and 72 hours (T4) after knee arthroplasty. The growth mixture model was utilized to identify the developmental trajectories of movement-evoked pain after knee arthroplasty.

Results: Three developmental trajectories of movement-evoked pain after knee arthroplasty were identified: the moderate pain-rise then decline group (47.75%), the moderate pain-continuous decline group (11.80%), and the severe pain-continuous stable group (40.45%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that social support, pain catastrophization, education, disease duration, and operation time were significant predictors of the types of movement-evoked pain in knee arthroplasty patients (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: This study identifies three potential categories of movement-evoked pain developmental trajectories after knee arthroplasty, with the moderate pain-rising then falling group being the most common. Significant predictors include social support, pain catastrophization, education, disease duration, and operation time.