J Korean Orthop Assoc.  2006 Feb;41(1):129-133.

Pain after Total Knee Arthroplasty

• Cho WS
• Ahn HS
• Kim MY
• Seol ES
• Lee SW
• Choi JW

Abstract

PURPOSE: This study examined the factors affecting pain, the pattern of pain, as well as the intensity and duration after a total knee arthroplasty.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
As a prospective study, 69 osteoarthritic knee patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty from Jan. 2004 to Nov. 2004, were examined using a visual analogue scale (VAS) in order to determine the pain intensity, duration, pain character and pattern at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year after surgery. We checked for possible factors such as height, body weight, body mass index (BMI), HSS score, deformity, range of motion preoperatively, prosthesis type and operation procedure intraoperatively, the HSS score and range of motion at postoperative one year. The Pearson correlation test and Kruskal-Wallis test were used for statistical analysis.
RESULTS
The mean preoperative and 1-year postoperative HSS score was 61.4 and 94.6, respectively. The height, body weight, body mass index (BMI), HSS score, deformity, range of motion, prosthesis type and surgical procedure were not related to the intensity and duration of the pain. The mean postoperative VAS score at 6 weeks and 3, 6 and 12 months was 4.3+/-1.0, 2.7+/-0.9, 1.6+/-0.4, 1.3+/-0.4, respectively. Five patients had mild pain until postoperative one year.
CONCLUSION
The pain after total knee arthroplasty disappeared with time. However, mild knee pain sometimes remained even 1 year after surgery.

Keyword

Total knee arthroplasty; Pain; Visual analogue scale

MeSH Terms

Arthroplasty*
Body Height
Body Weight
Congenital Abnormalities
Humans
Knee*
Prospective Studies
Prostheses and Implants
Range of Motion, Articular