It is well-established that there is a poor correlation between structural changes and pain levels in osteoarthritis (OA). To the best of our knowledge, the association between the neuropathic pain and OA have not yet been investigated. The result of the current research demonstrated that the prevalence of neuropathic pain symptoms in individuals with hip and knee OA, more strongly associated with pain at rest than pain on activity, particularly in men.

The study evaluated whether pain at rest and pain on activity were linked distinctively with neuropathic pain scores among the persons with end-stage hip and knee OA.

A total of 843 hip or knee OA patients who scheduled for total joint arthroplasty were provided with pre-surgery questionnaires to obtained data regarding health status, neuropathic pain (painDETECT), depression (HADS), socio-demographics, pain catastrophizing (PCS), medication use, and measures of pain at rest and pain on activity (WOMAC pain items). The relationship between study measures and neuropathic pain scores (outcome) were assessed differently for men and women using the multivariable linear regression models.

The mean age of the participants of the analysis noticed was 65.1 years. Women exhibited higher mean pain DETECT scores than men with 27.7% of men and 35.6% of women meeting cut-offs for possible neuropathic pain. The coefficients for both kinds of pain noticed to be statistically significant during the final regression model for women. However, the coefficient for pain on activity was 1.6 times lesser than for pain at rest. In men, only pain at rest was considerably correlated with neuropathic pain scores.

Analysis outcomes support that the considerable proportion of end-stage hip and knee OA patients experienced the neuropathic pain, especially at rest than on activity and particularly in men. Clinical presentation of pain at rest may require more rigorous assessment for possible neuropathic pain and have suggestions for appropriate pain management.