Impact of self-reported interoceptive abilities on postoperative pain
- 1Pain Clinic, Department of Anaesthesiology, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Abstract
Interoception is described as the sensitivity to internal bodily stimuli, and plays an important role in pain perception. Heightened interoceptive sensibility (i.e. self-reported interoceptive abilities) may reinforce misinterpretation of stimuli, enhancing pain perception. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between interoceptive sensibility and acute postoperative pain. Interoceptive sensibility was measured using the Private Body Consciousness Scale in two prospective observational surgical cohorts: a Caesarean delivery cohort (C-section cohort) of 146 patients, and a lower extremity orthopaedic surgery cohort (Ortho cohort) of 70 patients. One day after surgery, patients rated pain (primary outcome) and other postoperative symptoms (secondary outcomes) on a 0-10 scale. Bonferroni corrections were applied to secondary outcomes. Interoception positively correlated with pain (C-section cohort: Spearmans rho = 0.182, P = 0.028; Ortho cohort: rho = 0.259, P = 0.031), and with dizziness (C-section cohort: rho = 0.309, P = 0.002; Ortho cohort: rho = 0.348 P = 0.041) in both cohorts. In the C-section cohort, interoception correlated with shivering (rho = 0.321, P < 0.001). In the Ortho cohort, interoception correlated with nausea (rho = 0.366, P = 0.023) and helplessness (rho = 0.363, P = 0.026); whereas no correlation with pain catastrophising was found (rho = 0.240, P = 0.539). In pooled multiple linear regression analysis (n = 216), interoception predicted pain after controlling for age, sex and anaesthetic technique (B = 0.119, 95% CI [0.027-0.210], P = 0.011). These findings highlight the potential role of interoception in identifying patients at risk for acute postsurgical pain.
PerspectiveThis study identified associations between self-reported interoceptive abilities and acute postsurgical pain in two independent cohorts. These findings could contribute to the understanding of individual differences in pain perception, and provide an initial foundation for exploring the effectiveness of interoceptive therapies in preventing severe postoperative pain.
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BibTeX
@misc{weldam2026impact,
title = {{Impact of self-reported interoceptive abilities on postoperative pain}},
author = {B. P. Weldam and L. L. Meijer and O. F. C. van den Bosch and M. E. C. van Driel and L. Timmerman and J. F. M. van Dijk and M. Strick and IPOP research group and M. Rijsdijk},
howpublished = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.08.26365039},
url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.08.26365039v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Impact of self-reported interoceptive abilities on postoperative pain
AU - B. P. Weldam
AU - L. L. Meijer
AU - O. F. C. van den Bosch
AU - M. E. C. van Driel
AU - L. Timmerman
AU - J. F. M. van Dijk
AU - M. Strick
AU - IPOP research group
AU - M. Rijsdijk
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/08
PB - medRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.08.26365039
UR - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.08.26365039v1
AB - Interoception is described as the sensitivity to internal bodily stimuli, and plays an important role in pain perception. Heightened interoceptive sensibility (i.e. self-reported interoceptive abilities) may reinforce misinterpretation of stimuli, enhancing pain perception. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between interoceptive sensibility and acute postoperative pain. Interoceptive sensibility was measured using the Private Body Consciousness Scale in two prospective observational surgical cohorts: a Caesarean delivery cohort (C-section cohort) of 146 patients, and a lower extremity orthopaedic surgery cohort (Ortho cohort) of 70 patients. One day after surgery, patients rated pain (primary outcome) and other postoperative symptoms (secondary outcomes) on a 0-10 scale. Bonferroni corrections were applied to secondary outcomes. Interoception positively correlated with pain (C-section cohort: Spearmans rho = 0.182, P = 0.028; Ortho cohort: rho = 0.259, P = 0.031), and with dizziness (C-section cohort: rho = 0.309, P = 0.002; Ortho cohort: rho = 0.348 P = 0.041) in both cohorts. In the C-section cohort, interoception correlated with shivering (rho = 0.321, P < 0.001). In the Ortho cohort, interoception correlated with nausea (rho = 0.366, P = 0.023) and helplessness (rho = 0.363, P = 0.026); whereas no correlation with pain catastrophising was found (rho = 0.240, P = 0.539). In pooled multiple linear regression analysis (n = 216), interoception predicted pain after controlling for age, sex and anaesthetic technique (B = 0.119, 95% CI [0.027-0.210], P = 0.011). These findings highlight the potential role of interoception in identifying patients at risk for acute postsurgical pain. PerspectiveThis study identified associations between self-reported interoceptive abilities and acute postsurgical pain in two independent cohorts. These findings could contribute to the understanding of individual differences in pain perception, and provide an initial foundation for exploring the effectiveness of interoceptive therapies in preventing severe postoperative pain.
ER -