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Knee pain severity linked with increased risk for widespread pain
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Knee pain severity — not structural damage — increased the risk for widespread pain in patients at risk for osteoarthritis, according to study findings.
“This is the first longitudinal study investigating risk factors for the development of widespread pain in people with or at risk of having knee osteoarthritis,” Lisa Carlesso, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Montreal School of Rehabilitation, told Healio Rheumatology. “We found that the severity of knee pain and having pain present in both knees were significant risk factors for the development of widespread pain. In contrast, having only structural changes on X-ray indicative of knee osteoarthritis was not.”
Carlesso and colleagues conducted the Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study, which is a longitudinal cohort of 1,129 participants (mean age, 66.7 years) at risk for knee osteoarthritis. The researchers characterized participants by consistent frequent knee pain (CFKP), radiographic osteoarthritis (ROA), symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (SxOA) and knee pain severity at baseline, which occurred at 60-month follow-up clinic visit. Using logistic regression, the researchers examined the association between incident widespread pain (WSP) — defined as pain above and below the waist on both sides of the body and axially after 84 months among those who were free of pain at baseline — and baseline CFKP, ROA, SxOA and knee pain severity.
ROA in either knee was not associated with incident WSP (adjusted odds ratio = 0.9). However, incident WSP was associated with baseline bilateral CFKP (adjusted odds ratio = 2.35), bilateral SxOA (adjusted odds ratio = 2.11) and knee pain severity in the worst knee (adjusted odds ratio = 1.11)
These results suggest localized pain can develop into pain that is widespread, the researchers wrote. In addition, the results suggest structural damage does not lead to WSP.
“These findings highlight the importance of pain as a contributor to the development of widespread pain and therefore underscore the importance of pain management in this population.” – by Will Offit
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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