Understanding Chronic Pain After Surgery

Advancing precision approaches to prevent and treat chronic post-surgical pain.

Each year, millions of people undergo surgery. While most recover fully, some continue to experience pain long after their surgical incisions have healed.

This condition — called chronic post-surgical pain (CPSP) — affects more than 1 in 10 surgical patients.

CPSP can interfere with work, sleep, daily activities, and emotional well-being. Not everyone experiences this pain in the same way, and researchers are still working to understand why some people develop long-term pain while others recover fully.

CPSP can occur after many types of procedures, and is more common after:

Breast surgery
Heart or lung surgery
Abdominal surgery
Certain orthopedic surgeries

About IMPETUS

How to participate

Meet the team

About the IMPETUS Study

The Integrated Mechanisms, Phenotypes, and Translational Underpinnings of Chronic Pain after Surgery (IMPETUS) study aims to better understand the biological, psychological, and lifestyle factors that contribute to chronic post-surgical pain — with the ultimate goal of improving prevention and treatment.

Because every patient’s pain experience is different, one of the study’s main goals is to identify distinct phenotypes of:

Pain symptoms
Sensory function
Immune system activity
Cognitive function
Behavioral and lifestyle factors

Researchers use advanced statistical and machine learning approaches to analyze detailed data from:

Individuals who developed chronic post-surgical pain
Individuals who had similar surgeries but recovered without long-term pain

By comparing these groups, the team can identify factors that may uniquely contribute to persistent pain.

Advancing Research Through Integrated Models

To deepen understanding and accelerate discovery, IMPETUS investigators also study chronic post-surgical pain using a mouse model.

Studying mechanisms in both humans and laboratory models helps:

Validate biological findings
Identify new therapeutic targets
Translate discoveries more quickly into patient care

Ultimately, this integrated research approach aims to develop more precise, personalized treatments for patients who are at risk of — or already experiencing — chronic post-surgical pain.

IMPETUS Clinical Study

IMPETUS is an observational research study, meaning it does not test a new treatment or change participants’ medical care. Instead, researchers carefully measure and observe many aspects of health to better understand patterns associated with chronic post-surgical pain.

Who can participate?

The study enrolls adults who:

Underwent major abdominal or genitourinary surgery within the past 3 years
Either:
- Developed chronic pain related to their surgery
- Recovered without long-term pain

By studying these groups, researchers can better understand why chronic pain develops in some individuals but not others.

What does participation involve?

One In-Person Visit

Participants complete a one-time visit that includes:

Questionnaires about pain, mood, sleep, and daily functioning
Brief thinking and memory tasks
Sensory testing to assess how the body processes pain, temperature, and touch
A blood sample
Two small (3 mm) skin biopsy samples near the surgical incision to evaluate nerve and immune function

30 Days of Remote Monitoring

After the visit, participants: