Abstract

BACKGROUND

Movement-evoked pain (MEP) is a feature of knee osteoarthritis impacting individuals' pattern of (in)activity. Little is known about the effect of cognitive or emotional factors on MEP.

OBJECTIVE

To determine associations and explained variances of fear of movement (BFMSO), knee confidence, and situational catastrophizing (SCQ) with MEP and whether associations differ based on the perceived threat of tasks.

DESIGN

People with knee osteoarthritis completed the sit-to-stand, stair climb, and 6-min walk tests and rated their peak MEP following each task. Participants ranked tasks from most-to-least threatening regarding anticipated knee pain and completed BFMSO, knee confidence, and SCQ questionnaires for each task. A hierarchical linear regression model was run for each task with MEP as the outcome. Perceived threat of the task was added to the model. Models were adjusted for age, sex, BMI, and resting pain.

RESULTS

Data from 81 participants (64% female) with a mean age of 67.5 (SD: 8.4) were included. Adjusted r-squared value for the sit-to-stand, stair climb, and 6-min walk models including BFMSO, knee confidence, and SCQ were 0.37 (F(7,73) = 7.85, RMSE = 17.66), 0.56 (F(7,73) = 15.38, RMSE = 13.92) and 0.48 (F(7,73) = 11.66, RMSE = 17.00), respectively. BFMSO and knee confidence scores were not associated with MEP. SCQ was associated with MEP in all models. The addition of perceived threat ranking to each model did not improve model fit or explained variance.

CONCLUSION

This study provides evidence of momentary cognitive/emotional pain appraisals explaining a moderate amount of variance in MEP in people with knee osteoarthritis, suggesting their potential role in shaping MEP.

MeSH

Cross-Sectional Studies, Osteoarthritis, Knee, Pain, Osteoarthritis, Movement