# COPING WITH OSTEOARTHRITIC KNEE PAIN

> **NIH NIH R01** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 1991 · $199,985

## Abstract

DESCRIPTION:  (Adapted from the applicant's abstract) Chronic pain is a
significant problem for many osteoarthritis patients.  The applicant's
research has shown that following a 10 week cognitive-behavioral group
intervention designed to improve pain coping skills, osteoarthritic knee
pain patients show significant improvements in pain and psychological
disability compared to patients receiving arthritis education or standard
care.  Two studies are proposed to further this research.  Study 1 seeks to
determine whether the effects of pain coping skills training can be
enhanced by adding an innovative spouse training intervention that features
behavioral rehearsal, patient-spouse home and in vivo practice sessions,
and strategies for maintaining frequent practice of coping skills.  120
osteoarthritic knee pain patients will be randomly assigned to three
conditions:  pain coping skills training alone, pain coping skills training
plus spouse training, or an arthritis education control condition.  The
study:  1) will evaluate whether spouse training helps patients maintain
gains in pain relief and reduces pain behavior, and 2) determine how
changes in patients' perception of pain relate to long-term (6-12 mos.)
improvements in pain and disability.  If spouse training enhances pain
coping skills training, future research could identify the spouse training
techniques that contribute most to treatment effects.  If changes in pain
perception relate to long-term improvements in pain and disability, this
information could be used to identify patients who are most likely to
maintain gains following cognitive-behavioral treatment.  Study 2
investigates the neurobiological mechanisms of pain coping strategies.
Several lines of evidence suggest that pain coping strategies affect the
perception of pain through activation of endogenous morphine-like
substances.  To test this possibility, the applicant will carry out a
controlled laboratory study in normal subjects.  Tolerance for ischemic
pain will be assessed under two conditions:  following infusion of
naloxone-an opiate antagonist, and following saline infusion.  Previous
research has shown tolerance for ischemic pain decreases following naloxone
infusion indicating that ischemic pain activates endogenous opioids.  The
proposed study seeks to determine the extent to which pain coping
strategies predict changes in pain perception that occur following naloxone
infusion.  If Study 2 indicates that pain coping strategies mediate pain
through opioid activation in normals, future studies could evaluate whether
a similar mechanism mediates the effects of pain coping strategies in
arthritis patients.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3157128
- **Project number:** 2R01AR035270-06A1
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **SAM.gov UEI:** TP7EK8DZV6N5
- **Principal Investigator:** Francis J. Keefe
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1991
- **Award amount:** $199,985
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 1985-05-01 → 1994-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3157128

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3157128, COPING WITH OSTEOARTHRITIC KNEE PAIN (2R01AR035270-06A1). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-24 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3157128. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*