
Kristian Kjær PetersenAalborg University · Department of Health Science and Technology
Kristian Kjær Petersen
MSc, PhD Dr.Med.
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Introduction
Skills and Expertise
Publications
Publications (150)
Chronic postoperative pain is present in approximately 20% of patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty. Studies indicate that pain mechanisms are associated with development and maintenance of chronic postoperative pain. The current study assessed pain sensitivity, inflammation, microRNAs, and psychological factors and combined these in a networ...
Sleep disturbances exacerbate chronic pain, increase psychological load, and increase inflammation. Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) mimics aspects of chronic pain, predominantly affecting peripheral pain mechanisms, while experimental sleep provocations have been shown to impact central pain mechanisms. This study aimed to combine a DOMS model...
Temporal summation of pain (TSP) is a human proxy for wind-up of dorsal horn neurons as assessed in animals. The common paradigm for eliciting TSP is evoked by repetitive nociceptive stimuli of equal intensity. Various stimulation and assessment protocols have been used. This scoping review aims to provide insight into key elements of TSP stimulati...
Background
Total knee replacement (TKR) is the gold standard treatment for end‐stage chronic osteoarthritis pain, yet many patients report chronic postoperative pain after TKR. The search for preoperative predictors for chronic postoperative pain following TKR has been studied with inconsistent findings.
Methods
This study investigates the predict...
Background
Persistent postsurgical pain (PPSP) after lung cancer surgery is common and current definitions are based on evaluations at a single time point after surgery. Pain intensity and symptoms may however fluctuate and change over time, and be impacted by multiple and shifting factors. Studies of postoperative recovery patterns and transition...
Background
Recently, in an open pilot study, we found up to two years, a potential pain-relieving effect of intra-articular gold micro-particles using the patient’s synovial fluid for patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). During the study the excluded group of patients, due to multisite pain, co-morbidities, and other exclusion criteria., receiv...
Background
Chronic postoperative pain after total knee replacement (TKR) is a major clinical problem. It is still unclear if specific inflammatory mediators are associated with long‐term postoperative pain complications. The current exploratory study aimed to (1) evaluate a multiplex of inflammatory mediators 5 years after TKR surgery in patients w...
Substantial interindividual variability characterizes osteoarthritis (OA) pain. Previous findings identify quantitative sensory testing (QST), psychological factors, and health-related quality of life as contributors to OA pain and predictors of treatment outcomes. This exploratory study aimed to explain baseline OA pain intensity and predict OA pa...
Total knee replacement (TKR) is the gold-standard treatment for end-stage chronic osteoarthritis pain, yet many patients report chronic postoperative pain after TKR. The search for preoperative predictors for chronic postoperative pain following TKR has been studied with inconsistent findings. This study investigates the predictive value of quantit...
Objectives
This study explored changes in pain-related parameters, occupational function, occupational balance, lifestyle factors, and self-perceived health status in adults with chronic high-impact pain participating in an occupational therapy lifestyle intervention.
Methods
This one-group longitudinal feasibility study was performed in three con...
Background
Chronic pain is the hallmark symptom of joint diseases. This study examined the differences in quantitative sensory testing between patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), hand osteoarthritis (hand‐OA) and a pain‐free control group and differences between patients with and without concomitant fibromyalgia (cFM).
Methods
All patients an...
Objectives:
Studies suggest that a range of pain mechanisms, such as poor quality of sleep, perceived stress, pain catastrophizing or pain sensitivity, are likely to enhance clinical pain. Animal studies suggest that these pain mechanisms can be modulated by increasing physical activity, but human data are needed to support this hypothesis. This e...
Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is the end-stage treatment of knee osteoarthritis (OA), and approximately 20% of patients experience chronic postoperative pain. Studies indicate that inflammatory biomarkers might be associated with pain in OA and potentially linked to the development of chronic postoperative pain after TKA. This study aimed to (1) ev...
Objectives:
High intensity and longer duration of acute postoperative pain are generally associated with a higher risk of developing chronic postoperative pain. Therefore, it is important to identify the preoperative predictors for acute postoperative pain. Preoperative evaluation of offset analgesia (OA) and the Pain Catastrophising Scale (PCS) m...
Objectives:
The objective of this longitudinal cohort study was to investigate if preoperative pain mechanisms, anxiety, and depression increase risk of developing chronic post-thoracotomy pain (CPTP) after lung cancer surgery.
Methods:
Patients with suspected or confirmed lung cancer undergoing surgery by either video-assisted thoracoscopic sur...
Emerging evidence suggest that quantitative sensory testing (QST) may predict the treatment response to pain-relieving therapies. This systematic review and meta-analysis focus on the predictive value of QST for pain management of knee osteoarthritis (OA). MEDLINE and EMBASE were systematically searched for all studies from year 2000 to 2023 on pre...
Background
Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a pathological condition prevalent in the general population. Exercise and pharmaceutical approaches are first-line treatments and the end-stage treatment is total knee replacement (TKR). Interestingly, around 20% of patients experience chronic postoperative pain and the reason for this is not fully understoo...
Background
Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a pathological condition prevalent in the general population. Exercise and pharmaceutical approaches are first-line treatments and the end-stage treatment is total knee replacement (TKR). Interestingly, around 20% of patients experience chronic postoperative pain and the reason for this is not fully understoo...
Background:
Poor quality sleep is a common complaint among people with chronic pain. The co-occurrence of poor sleep quality and chronic pain often comes with increased pain intensity, more disability, and a higher cost of healthcare. Poor sleep has been suggested to affect measures of peripheral and central pain mechanisms. To date, sleep provoca...
Background:
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) can modulate several biological systems, including the pain system. This study aimed to evaluate the temporal expression of circulating miRNAs in the plasma of healthy volunteers as a marker for epigenetic changes before and after an acute, experimental, pain provocation by intramuscular hypertonic saline injection....
Background
Gold microparticles injected intra-articular in knee osteoarthritic joints (OA) may provide pain relief. The present open, exploratory study sought to identify the efficacy and factors associated with the outcomes.
Methods
This study included thirty patients with knee OA who received intraarticular injections with 20 mg gold micropartic...
Increasing evidence suggests an association between gene expression and clinical pain. Epigenetic modifications are the main modulators of gene expression or protein translation in response to environmental stimuli and pathophysiological conditions. Preclinical and clinical studies indicate that epigenetic modifications could also impact the develo...
Objectives
The prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) is rising, and pain is the hallmark symptom of OA. Pain in OA is complicated and can be influenced by multiple joint-related factors and factors related to, e.g., physiological, epigenetic, and pain sensory profiles. Increasing evidence suggests that a subset of patients with OA are pain sensitive. T...
Objectives:
Existing equipment for quantitative sensory testing is generally expensive and not easily applicable in a clinical setting thus simple bed-side devices are warranted. Pressure hyperalgesia is a common finding in patients with musculoskeletal pain and an experimental model is delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS). DOMS is characterised b...
Background:
A subset of osteoarthritis patients will experience chronic postoperative pain after total knee arthroplasty (TKA), but the source of pain is unclear. The aim of this exploratory study was to assess patients with and without postoperative pain after TKA using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), quantitative sensory testing (QST), clinica...
Background:
Few studies have investigated the underlying mechanisms for unilateral subacromial pain syndrome (SAPS). Therefore, this study examined (1) if 8-weeks of exercise could modulate clinical pain or temporal summation of pain (TSP), conditioned pain modulation (CPM), and exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH) and (2) if any of these parameters...
Objectives
Treatment for childhood Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is associated with long-term recovery. The present study aimed to investigate the long-term biopsychosocial status and quality of life in young adolescents and adults after the treatment of childhood CRPS.
Methods
A 4 year follow-up of individuals with childhood-CRPS, type 1...
Background
Cannabidiol (CBD) has been proposed as an analgesic/anti-inflammatory treatment modality for joint pain. This study is based on a randomised, placebo controlled, double blind study (NORDCAN), investigating the effect of CBD in patients with painful hand osteoarthritis or psoriatic arthritis [1].
Objectives
The aim of the present study w...
Background
Chronic pain is experienced by many patients with joint disease but underlying pain phenotypes including impact of concomitant fibromyalgia (cFM) have not been investigated in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and hand osteoarthritis (hand-OA).
Objectives
To investigate pain parameters (quantitative sensory testing) in patients wi...
Background:
Duloxetine is indicated in the management of pain in osteoarthritis. Evidence suggests that duloxetine modulate central pain mechanisms and cognitive factors, and these factors are assumed contributing to the analgesic effect. This proof-of-mechanism, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover, double-blinded trial evaluated the effect...
We thank Dr. Jensen for his interest [...]
Purpose:
Altered pain facilitatory and inhibitory mechanisms have been recognized as an important manifestation in patients with chronic pain, and quantitative sensory testing (QST) can act as a proxy for this process. We have recently developed a simple bedside QST tool kit (QuantiPain) for more clinical use. The purpose of this study was to inve...
Background:
This exploratory study investigates if intra-articular injected gold microparticles in knee osteoarthritis (KOA) reduce immunomodulatory-based pain via proteomic changes in the synovial fluid (SF) and serum.
Methods:
Thirty patients with moderate KOA were included. Intraarticular injections with 20 mg gold microparticles (72.000 part...
Introduction
Patients with chronic low back pain radiating to the leg (CLBPr) are sometimes referred to a specialised pain clinic for a precise diagnosis based, for example, on a diagnostic selective nerve root block. Possible interventions are therapeutic selective nerve root block or pulsed radiofrequency. Central pain sensitisation is not direct...
Background
The global burden of osteoarthritis (OA) is steadily increasing due to demographic and lifestyle changes. The nervous system can undergo peripheral and central neuroplastic changes (sensitization) in patients with OA impacting the options to manage the pain adequately. As a result of sensitization, patients with OA show lower pressure pa...
Objectives
Exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH) is a decrease in the pain sensitivity after exercise. Individuals with chronic pain show less EIH after one exercise session compared with pain-free individuals possibly due to pain in exercising muscles. The primary aim of this randomized controlled cross-over study was to compare the EIH response at t...
Central sensitisation is assumed to be one of the underlying mechanisms for chronic low back pain. Because central sensitisation is not directly assessable in humans, the term 'human assumed central sensitisation' (HACS) is suggested. The objectives were to investigate what definitions for HACS have been used, to evaluate the methods to assess HACS...
Background
Chronic postoperative pain following total joint replacement (TJA) is a substantial clinical problem, and poor sleep may affect predictive factors for postoperative pain, such as pain catastrophizing. However, the magnitude of these associations is currently unknown. This exploratory study investigated (1) the relationship between preope...
Objectives:
Offset analgesia (OA) induces a brief pain inhibition and studies suggest OA impairment in patients with chronic pain when compared to healthy subjects. Conditioned pain modulation remains the most studied descending pain inhibitory control mechanism and is modulated by centrally-acting analgesics. Since OA may be mediated by similar n...
ABSTRACT
Objective: This study aimed to assess pain sensitization in individual office workers with chronic neck pain through simple bedside quantitative sensory tests (QST) and to associate the findings with pain intensity and pain catastrophizing.
Methods: One hundred-and-four office workers with chronic neck pain were assessed using pressure pai...
Objectives:
Sleep disturbances are increasingly recognized as a major part of chronic pain pathology. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common occurrence in patients with chronic pain attending specialized pain clinics, yet its prevalence remains unclear. Using screening tools such as the Berlin and STOP-BANG questionnaires may aid in early ident...
Abstract
Objective
Quantitative sensory testing (QST) aims to assess facilitation of spinal pain mechanisms by Temporal
Summation of Pain (TSP) and balance in pain inhibition and facilitation by Conditioned pain modulation
(CPM).
The aim was to investigate associations between preoperative TSP and CPM response and risk of chronic
pain.
Materials an...
Cannabidiol (CBD) is increasingly used as analgesic medication even though the recent International Association for the Study of Pain presidential task force on cannabis and cannabinoid analgesia found a lack of trials examining CBD for pain management. The present trial examines CBD as add on analgesic therapy in patients with hand osteoarthritis...
Musculoskeletal pain affects approximately 20% of the population worldwide and represents one of the leading causes of global disability. As yet, precise mechanisms underlying the development of musculoskeletal pain and transition to chronicity remain unclear, though individual factors such as sleep quality, physical activity, affective state, pain...
Objective
This study aimed to assess the prevalence of neck pain and to identify associated occupational factors in Portuguese office workers.
Background
There is still necessary to quantify the association of the use of new technologies with neck pain in office workers.
Methods
Six hundred-and-one office workers completed online questionnaires w...
Objectives:
The incidence of chronic postoperative pain after total knee replacement (TKR) is approx. 20%, and hence preoperative risk factors are important to identify. Recent studies have indicated that preoperative inflammatory markers might hold prognostic information for the development of chronic postoperative pain. Long non-coding RNA (lncR...
Background
There is a lack of evidence of the relative effects of different exercise modes on pain sensitization and pain intensity in individuals with knee osteoarthritis (KOA).
Methods
Ninety individuals with radiographic and symptomatic KOA, ineligible for knee replacement surgery, were randomized to 12 weeks of twice‐weekly strength training i...
Background:
The underlying mechanisms for shoulder pain (SP) are still widely unknown. Previous reviews report signs of altered pain processing in SP measured using quantitative sensory testing (QST). Evidence suggests that QST might hold predictive value for SP after intervention, yet it is not known whether QST profiles can be modulated in respo...
Objectives
1) Compare pressure pain threshold (PPT) values between office workers with chronic neck pain and asymptomatic controls; 2) establish reference PPT values in chronic neck pain; 3) evaluate associations between PPTs, pain intensity and disability.
Methods
Seven English/Portuguese databases were searched for relevant literature. Studies i...
Background:
It has been hypothesized that the presence of chronic pain causes excess mortality. Since chronic pain is prevalent among patients with psoriatic arthritis this potential association should be explored.
Objectives:
To investigate whether higher cumulative pain intensity is associated with an excess mortality risk in patients with pso...
Objectives:
Office workers with chronic neck pain demonstrates signs of widespread hyperalgesia, less efficient descending pain modulation, which could indicate sensitization of central pain pathways. No studies have assessed a wide variety of office workers with different chronic neck pain disorders and assessed the impact of pain intensity on as...
Purpose
Clinically, arthrogenic muscle inhibition (AMI) has a negative impact on functional recovery in musculoskeletal disorders. One possible technique to relieve AMI is motor imagery, which is widely used in neurological rehabilitation to enhance motor neuron excitability. The purpose of this study was to verify the efficacy of visually-assisted...
Objectives
Approximately 20% of knee osteoarthritis patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) report chronic postoperative pain. Studies suggest that preoperative variables such as impaired descending pain control, catastrophizing, function, and neuropathic pain–like symptoms may predict postoperative pain 12 months after TKA, but the combi...
Objectives
Exercise therapy is recommended for low back pain (LBP) although the immediate effects on pain are highly variable. In 96 individuals with LBP this cross‐sectional study explored 1) the magnitude of exercise‐induced hypoalgesia (EIH), and 2) measures of pain sensitivity and clinical pain manifestations in individuals reporting a clinical...
Objectives:
Total knee replacement (TKR) normally provides improvements of physical function and reduces pain. However, approximately 20% of the patients report chronic postoperative knee pain. The aims of the present study were to assess the pain, physical function, and physiological characteristics 5 years after TKR surgery.
Methods:
Eighty pa...
Background:
Exercise is recommended to promote and maintain health and as treatment for more than 25 diseases and pain conditions. Exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH), a measure of descending pain inhibitory control, has been found to be impaired in some chronic pain conditions, but it is currently unclear if EIH is modifiable. This study investiga...
Objectives
Chronic postoperative pain is prevalent after robot-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy for endometrial cancer. Preoperative Quantitative Sensory Testing (QST) has been utilized to identify patients at risk of developing chronic postoperative pain after a range of surgical procedures. The aim of this prospective, observational study was t...
Studies have suggested that quantitative sensory testing (QST) might hold a predictive value for development of chronic postoperative pain and the response to pharmacological interventions.This review systematically summarizes the current evidence on the predictive value of QST for chronic postoperative pain and the effect of pharmacological interv...
Objectives:
Patients with low back pain (LBP) often demonstrate pain sensitization, high degree of pain catastrophizing, and psychological distress. This study investigated if pain sensitization mechanisms, the pain catastrophizing scale (PCS), and Start Back Screening Tool (SBST) were associated with pain in recurrent LBP patients 12-weeks after...
Background
Studies regarding excess mortality among patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) are conflicting due to the heterogenous nature of the disease. Thus, identifying risk factors for mortality is crucial, but few studies have examined these in PsA. Presence of chronic pain can cause excess mortality and since pain is prevalent among patients...
Objective:
Between 50% and 67% of adults suffer from neck-shoulder pain, which may be associated with increased stiffness of neck muscles. We assessed pressure pain sensitivity and muscle stiffness maps of the upper trapezius in female computer users with and without chronic neck-shoulder pain and investigated the effects of eccentric training on...
Chronic musculoskeletal pain is a common problem globally. Current evidence suggests that maladapted central pain pathways are associated with pain chronicity following e.g. post-operative pain after knee replacement. Other factors such as low mood, anxiety and tendency to catastrophize are also important contributors. We aimed to investigate brain...
Background and aims:
Severe pre- and acute postoperative pain have been associated with development of chronic postoperative pain. Chlorzoxazone (a muscle relaxant) has been suggested to enhance acute postoperative pain recovery but the lack of larger randomized controlled trials have however questioned the continued use. Despite this, chlorzoxazo...
Objectives:
Osteoarthritis (OA) is known to be a slowly progressive disease that alters all tissue compartments of the joint involved with a characteristic degradation of the cartilage, bone remodeling, and inflammation. One of the prominent symptoms in OA patients is pain, but a few radiological, inflammatory or structurally related biomarkers ha...
Introduction
One out of seven women will develop a state of chronic postoperative pain following robot-assisted hysterectomy for endometrial cancer. Recently, metabolic studies have indicated that circulating lipids and lipoproteins could act as nociceptive modulators and thereby influence the induction and perpetuation of pain. The objectives of t...
Background
Chronic postoperative pain affects approximately 20% of patients with knee osteoarthritis after total knee replacement. Circulating microRNAs can be found in serum and might act as biomarkers in a variety of diseases. The current study aimed to investigate the preoperative expression of circulating microRNAs as potential predictive bioma...
Chronic pain patients often suffer from insomnia or impaired sleep which has been associated with increased pain sensitivity, but a limited amount of studies have investigated the effects of total sleep deprivation on central pain mechanisms. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effects of total sleep deprivation on temporal summat...
Background:
This study investigated 1) if a prolonged noxious stimulus (24-hr topical capsaicin) in healthy adults would impair central pain inhibitory and facilitatory systems measured as a reduction in conditioned pain modulation (CPM) and enhancement of temporal summation of pain (TSP) and 2) if acute pain relief or exacerbation (cooling and he...
Chronic musculoskeletal pain is a common problem globally. Current evidence suggests that maladaptive modulation of central pain pathways is associated with pain chronicity following e.g. chronic post-operative pain after knee replacement. Other factors such as low mood, anxiety and tendency to catastrophize seem to also be important contributors....
Background and aims - The annual prevalence of chronic neck pain ranges between 20-40% in computer workers (CW) and is a leading cause of disability globally. CW with higher levels of pain have signs of widespread hypersensitivity and impaired descending pain modulation. This study aimed to assess pressure pain thresholds (PPT) in CW with different...
Objectives:
Synovitis is one of the possible pain generators in osteoarthritis (OA) and associated with upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines, which can lead to worsening of the postoperative pain. This explorative study aimed to investigate the association between perioperative synovitis and self-reported pain 12-months after total knee arth...
OBJECTIVES:
Exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH), a measure of descending pain inhibitory control, has been found hyperalgesic in subgroups of painful knee osteoarthritis (KOA) patients. The effect of standardized exercise therapy (ET) on clinical pain intensity in KOA has been demonstrated. However, the prognostic value of EIH in KOA patients comple...
Background:
Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is a common knee pain condition where hip and knee exercises help improve treatment outcomes. This study compared the acute effect of hip versus knee exercises on anti-nociceptive and pro-nociceptive mechanisms in young females with long-standing PFP.
Methods:
In this randomized cross-over study, 29 females...
Background:
Conditioned pain modulation (CPM) and offset analgesia are different features of descending pain inhibition. This study investigated CPM, offset analgesia and clinical pain measures in patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) before and after treatment with the combination of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAIDs) plus acetamin...
Background
Synovitis is a pain generator in patients with osteoarthritis and associated with upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines, which have been found to lead to pain sensitivity and worse self-reported pain(1).
Objectives
This study aimed to investigate the association between pre- and perioperative synovitis from imaging and histology an...
Background
Pro‐nociceptive and anti‐nociceptive mechanisms are commonly assessed in clinical and experimental pain studies, while their potential interaction is not well understood.
Objectives
Investigate the effect of conditioning pain modulation (CPM) on temporal summation of pain (TSP).
Methods
Twenty healthy participants underwent cuff algome...
Objective:
Phenotypic changes of chondrocytes toward hypertrophy might be fundamental in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA), of which type X collagen (Col10) is a well-known marker. The purpose was to develop a specific immunoassay for blood quantification of a newly identified neo-epitope of type Col10 to assess its diagnostic value for radi...
Objectives:
Chronic postsurgical knee pain (CPSP) is a burden for ∼20% of the patients following total knee replacement (TKR). Presurgical pain intensities have consistently been found associated with CPSP, and it is suggested that comorbidities are likewise important for the development of CPSP. This study aimed to identify presurgical risk facto...
Purpose of review:
The purpose of this review is to summarize recent findings on conditioned pain modulation (CPM) in humans with a focus on methodology, factors modulating CPM, and the potential for CPM as a clinical marker for pain progression.
Recent findings:
CPM can be evoked by combining different stimulus modalities with good reliability;...