Effects of tDCS Combined With CBI on Postsurgical Pain

The purpose of this study is to determine whether a new medical technology can help reduce post-operative total knee or hip pain when combined with a Cognitive-Behavioral intervention (CBI). This new medical technology, is called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), it uses a very small amount of electricity to temporarily stimulate specific areas of the brain thought to be involved in pain reduction. The electrical current passes through the skin, scalp, hair, and skull and requires no additional medication, sedation, or needles. This study will investigate the effects of tDCS, the Cognitive-Behavioral (CB) intervention and their combination on pain among veterans following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) or total hip arthroplasty (THA). The Veteran may benefit in the form of decreased pain and opioid requirements following knee or hip replacement surgery. However, benefit is only likely if Veterans are randomized to one of the 3 (out of 4) groups. This study hopes to determine the effects of these interventions and combined effect on post-operative pain, opioid use and functioning during the 48-hour post-operative period following a total knee or hip replacement.

The proposed study employs a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled design to evaluate the effects of tDCS, brief Cognitive-Behavioral (CB) intervention and their combination on pain among veterans undergoing unilateral TKA or THA. 132 patients undergoing TKA/THA will be randomly assigned to one of four groups: 1. Group1- real tDCS + real CB intervention 2. Group2- real tDCS + education-only-control intervention 3. Group3- sham tDCS + real CB intervention 4. Group4- sham tDCS +education-only-control intervention Participants will receive 2 tDCS/CBI treatments on the day of their surgery, and 2 tDCS/CBI treatments the day after their surgery. Participants' perioperative medication usage and pain ratings will be tracked during postoperative hospital stay. Follow-up data regarding pain and opioid use will be collected at 1, 3 and 6-months.