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Understanding Neuropathic-Like Knee Pain

— Central risk factors may contribute to the condition, study shows

Last Updated October 12, 2018
MedpageToday

Researchers have shed further light on a significant subset of patients with knee pain -- those with neuropathic-like knee pain (NKP) that includes knee pain modified by central and peripheral neurologic dysfunction.

The authors undertook a cross-sectional of a U.K. postal questionnaire involving 9,506 respondents. Questions included knee pain severity (numerical rating scale) identifying those with knee pain.

They found that knee pain was common (28.2%) among responders, and that nearly half of these (13.65%) qualified as NKP (3.9% of the total population).

NKP, based on the modified painDETECT questionnaire, involved either central or localized damage to the nervous system, or nerve fibers around that modifies the knee pain experience. NKP has symptoms of pain, burning pain, tingling or prickling, mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia, allodynia, paroxysmal pain, and numbness.

Patients with NKP were more likely to be women and have fibromyalgia (OR 4.07), widespread pain (OR 1.93), nodal osteoarthritis (OR 1.80), injury (OR 1.50), pain catastrophizing (OR 5.37), and fatigue (OR 5.37), compared with those without NKP.

The data suggest that primarily central risk factors contributed to NKP (8% central versus 3% peripheral contributions).

Identifying NKP and central risk factors may help modify treatment strategies.

, is the director of clinical rheumatology at the Baylor Research Institute and a professor of medicine and rheumatology at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. He is the executive editor of . A version of this article first appeared on RheumNow, a news, information and commentary site dedicated to the field of rheumatology. Register to receive their free rheumatology newsletter.

Primary Source

Arthritis Research & Therapy

Fernandes GS, et al “Neuropathic-like knee pain and associated risk factors: A cross-sectional study in a UK community sample” Arth Res Ther 2018; DOI:10.1186/s13075-018-1717-6.