The Effect of Preoperative Education on Kinesiophobia in Patients Undergoing Total Knee Replacement Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Study

Kinesiophobia is known as the minimization of activities or avoidance of movement due to the fear that the pain caused by movement will negatively affect the person's life and the problem will occur again. It was first defined by Miller, Kopri and Todd in 1990 at the American Pain Society meeting as excessive and unreasonable anxiety against physical movement and pain in the person, which occurs due to the person feeling vulnerable as a result of a painful injury or re-injury. Kinesiophobia is one of the factors that contribute to the chronicization of pain in individuals after surgery; it can lead to negative patient behaviors on the disease in the surgical process. In addition, kinesiophobia can lead to movement limitation and movement limitation can lead to pain. Since this vicious cycle may result in more pain and disability, the importance of the issue is increasing. It has also been shown that patients with high levels of kinesiophobia experience more pain and have a lower quality of life. This research project aims to provide an original approach in a field where studies on preventing or minimizing the effects of kinesiophobia on the surgical process and postoperative recovery process are limited. It is expected that nurses' interventions for kinesiophobia during the operation process will have positive effects on treatment and care. In this study, visual material-supported patient education will be provided to reduce the level of kinesiophobia associated with total knee replacement surgery.