UF researchers identify which patients are at risk for continued pain after orthopedic surgery

When it comes to determining which patients will have long–lasting pain after orthopedic shoulder surgery, cognitive coping style and genetic predisposition to pain sensitivity may actually be bigger factors than the size or intensity of the operation, a new University of Florida Health study finds. The findings could help researchers develop better ways to help patients manage pain. Among a group of patients who underwent shoulder surgery, those who had both a high pain sensitivity variant in a specific gene as well as worrying thoughts about pain on a questionnaire were twice as likely to still have pain one year after the surgery, the researchers found. The findings appeared in a recent issue of the journal PAIN.