The primary purpose of this study is to explore the efficacy of intraoperative therapeutic suggestion as a nonpharmacological interventions for the reduction of intraoperative and postoperative surgical pain. This experimental study will randomly assign a sample of 150 patients scheduled for open orthopedic surgery for hip or knee replacement to one of three groups. Groups will be patients who receive random presentation therapeutic suggestion (RPTS) and no therapeutic suggestion (NTS) versus patients who receive specifically timed therapeutic suggestion (STTS) during anesthesia as identified by facial electromyography (FME). Repeated measures multivariate analysis of covariance will be used to assess group differences in pain patterns. This study builds on a masters project that used a random therapeutic suggestion and propofol to reduce postoperative pain. It serves as the first phase of a program of research using an intraoperative intervention to improve postoperative outcome. The study will provide data on the effect of timing of an intraoperative therapeutic suggestion on postoperative pain and data on a method of measuring intraoperative pain. Each of these yields direction for a program of study.
