Pain Hypervigilance is Associated with Greater Clinical Pain Severity and Enhanced Experimental Pain Sensitivity Among Adults with Symptomatic Knee Osteoarthritis

Pain hypervigilance is an important aspect of the fear-avoidance model of pain that may help explain individual differences in pain sensitivity among persons with knee osteoarthritis (OA). The purpose of this study was to examine the contribution of pain hypervigilance to clinical pain severity and experimental pain sensitivity in persons with symptomatic knee OA. We analyzed cross-sectional data from 168 adults with symptomatic knee OA. Quantitative sensory testing was used to measure sensitivity to heat pain, pressure pain, and cold pain, as well as temporal summation of heat pain, a marker of central sensitization. Pain hypervigilance was associated with greater clinical pain severity, as well as greater pressure pain. Pain hypervigilance was also a significant predictor of temporal summation of heat pain. Pain hypervigilance may be an important contributor to pain reports and experimental pain sensitivity among persons with knee OA.