Effect of emotional freedom techniques in mitigating pain catastrophizing following total knee arthroplasty

Controlled trial 👥 64 participants ⚖️ vs. conventional postoperative care Moderate rigor ✓ Source-checked 📍 China

In plain English. Sixty-four knee replacement patients were divided (not randomly, but by admission order) into a group getting standard care plus a 4-week EFT program, or standard care alone. Within the EFT group, pain catastrophizing and pain sensitivity fell significantly from baseline through 6 months; the paper reports these as within-group changes rather than a direct statistical comparison against the control group. Because patients were assigned by admission sequence rather than randomization, unmeasured differences between the groups could also play a role.

What they found

Sixty-four knee replacement patients were divided (not randomly, but by admission order) into a group getting standard care plus a 4-week EFT program, or…

A statistically significant reduction was observed in total pain catastrophizing and rumination from baseline to 6 months post-intervention (P<0.001); pain severity decreased significantly during the first 3 months, and pain sensitivity scores significantly decreased through 6 months (P<0.001).

How the study worked

Who took part patients following total knee arthroplasty for end-stage knee osteoarthritis (n=64)

What they did In a controlled trial, a tapping group was compared against a separate comparison group.

Compared with conventional postoperative care

Measured with Pain Catastrophizing Scale, Numeric Pain Rating Scale, Pain Sensitivity Questionnaire

💡 Where this could help

If findings like these hold up in larger trials, the promise is simple: a low-cost, self-administered tool that could reach people struggling with pain who can't easily access traditional care — at home, between appointments, or where there aren't enough clinicians to go around.

🔬 What to study next

The natural next step: longer-term follow-up to see how durable the benefit is, and an active ('sham tapping') control to isolate what's doing the work.

The full record

Design	Controlled trial
Participants	64 people
Population	patients following total knee arthroplasty for end-stage knee osteoarthritis
Comparison group	conventional postoperative care
Outcome measures	Pain Catastrophizing Scale, Numeric Pain Rating Scale, Pain Sensitivity Questionnaire
Journal	Complementary Therapies in Medicine
Year	2025
Country	China
Language	English
Method	EFT / Tapping
Publication type	Study / trial
Verification	✓ Confirmed against the primary source

Read the original study →

Cite this study

APA

Lin, A., Liu, Z., Zhang, T., Zhao, Y., Yang, C., & Wan, H. (2025). Effect of emotional freedom techniques in mitigating pain catastrophizing following total knee arthroplasty. Complementary Therapies in Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2025.103213

This record is part of the Tapping Evidence Base — an openly-sourced, fully-referenced directory of the research on EFT/Tapping. Explore more studies on Pain