The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as: “An unpleasant sensory or emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage. Pain is both a disease and a symptom.” The inclusion of the word emotional in the definition alludes to the fact that consciousness is part of the pain pathway. Despite the knowledge that neurocognitive aspects of human psychology are intimately related to pain, very little research exists examining behavioral interventions. In this month’s RAPM Focus, Editor-in-Chief Brian Sites, MD, joins Jessie Markovits, MD, the lead author of “Effects of hypnosis versus enhanced standard of care on postoperative opioid use after total knee arthroplasty: the HYPNO-TKA randomized clinical trial,” first published in June 2022

(https://rapm.bmj.com/content/47/9/534). In this provocative study, 64 patients got either a 10-minute hypnosis session or an enhanced control during a hospital medicine pre-op visit before total knee

arthroplasty.

Dr. Jessie Markovits completed medical school at Tulane School of Medicine in New Orleans, followed by an internal medicine residency at Stanford. Her current appointment is associate professor of

medicine, with a courtesy appointment to psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University. She is board-certified in internal medicine and has developed a perioperative specialization over the past 6 years in her clinical role as surgical co-management hospitalist, primarily for orthopedic surgery.

*The purpose of this podcast is to educate and to inform. The content of this podcast does not constitute medical advice, and it is not intended to function as a substitute for a healthcare practitioner’s judgement, patient care, or treatment. The views expressed by contributors are those of the speakers. BMJ does not endorse any views or recommendations discussed or expressed on this

podcast. Listeners should also be aware that professionals in the field may have different opinions. By listening to this podcast, listeners agree not to use its content as the basis for their own medical