Cognitive behavioural therapy reduces pain and improves sleep for people with osteoarthritis and insomnia, US experts report

People with knee osteoarthritis who are affected by insomnia could benefit from cognitive behavioural therapy says research in Arthritis & Rheumatology.
We know that insomnia is common in people with knee osteoarthritis, and that sleep disruption may actually worsen clinical pain by altering central pain modulation. So treating insomnia could be a useful way to improve quality of life.
Experts split 100 people with osteoarthritis into two groups. One group received cognitive behavioural therapy and the others had a placebo therapy.
Both groups reported substantial improvements in sleep, but the cognitive behavioural therapy group had significantly greater reductions in the number of times they awoke during the night.
Again, both groups experienced similar reductions in pain over six months but the effect was greater for those receiving cognitive behavioural therapy.
“Compared to active placebo, [cognitive behavioural therapy] was efficacious in reducing sleep maintenance insomnia,” say the researchers. “Treatment decreased clinical pain, but not pain modulation, suggesting that [cognitive behavioural therapy] has potential to augment pain management in knee osteoarthritis. Future work is needed to identify the mechanisms by which improved sleep reduces clinical pain.”

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Image credit Alyssa L. Miller