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Arthritis patients who are
optimistic that an upcoming hip or knee replacement operation is going
to remedy their pain are actually more likely to get better relief than
patients with low expectations about what surgery can do for them.
If you come in with a positive
attitude, you're more likely to have a better outcome.
Investigators studied 103 patients
who underwent total hip replacement surgery and another 89 who had a knee
replacement. Before surgery, participants completed questionnaires about
their overall health, physical functioning, level of pain, and expectations
about treatment. They were questioned again about their health 6 months
after surgery.
Overall, patients experienced
significantly less pain and better physical functioning after surgery.
But the three quarters of patients who expected complete pain relief following
their operation reported less pain and better functioning 6 months after
surgery than their counterparts with lower expectations.
In fact, patient expectations
were the second most important determinant of outcomes after surgery,
the report indicates. The biggest predictor of success was a patient's
pre-operative health status.
Journal
of Rheumatology June 2002;29:1273-1279
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