Relationship between sleep and pain after joint replacement surgery.
What is it about?
People experiencing long-term pain commonly complain of disturbed and insufficient quality sleep, which is associated with high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and obesity. This study aimed to discover a possible link between sleep and long-term knee and hip pain.
Why is it important?
Changes in the nervous system can cause neuropathic-like pain symptoms, and 25–30% of people with painful osteoarthritis, who have had a total joint replacement, still report symptoms of neuropathic pain. In these people, a strong link was found between long-term joint pain and disturbed sleep. This increased incidence of disturbed sleep linked specifically to neuropathic-like pain symptoms and not merely to the presence of pain. We also found that disturbed sleep increases the risk of developing new long-term pain in previously pain-free individuals.