Evidence-Based Online Pain Rehabilitation Programs
For people whose pain persists after knee replacement or due to spinal canal stenosis.
Developed by a rehabilitation medicine specialist, our programs are designed to help people understand persistent pain and use evidence-based strategies to reduce pain, improve function and quality of life at home
When pain persists, it doesn’t mean that something has gone wrong
After knee replacement
Many people recover well after knee replacement surgery.
However, for some, pain can continue for months or even years despite the knee joint healing as expected.
Persistent pain after knee replacement is common and does not necessarily mean that something has gone wrong with the surgery or the implant.
In many cases, ongoing pain reflects how the nervous system adapts after osteoarthritis and surgery, becoming more sensitive and protective, even once tissues have healed.
With spinal canal stenosis
Spinal canal stenosis can cause back and leg pain that varies greatly from person to person.
Some people continue to experience pain and walking difficulty even when scans appear stable or unchanged.
Ongoing pain in spinal stenosis does not always mean worsening damage. It often reflects how the nervous system responds to long-standing structural changes, changes in movement and worry about pain over time.
What is pain rehabilitation?
Pain rehabilitation is a medical approach used when pain persists longer than expected and recovery has not followed a straight forward path.
Rather than focusing only on a body part or scan findings, pain rehabilitation looks at how pain is produced and maintained by the nervous system alongside the physical, psychological, and social factors that influence recovery.
In rehabilitation medicine, this approach is commonly used to help people:
Understand why pain persists
Gradually restore movement and confidence
Reduce pain flare-ups and avoidance of activity
Improve sleep, daily function and participation in life
Pain rehabilitation does not suggest that pain is made up or “all in the head”.
It recognises that persistent pain is real, complex and influenced by how the body and nervous system adapt over time.
Developed by a rehabilitation medicine specialist
The Rehabilitation Medicine Group was founded by Dr Nathan Johns, a specialist Rehabilitation Medicine Physician.
Our programs are based on decades of research across pain science, rehabilitation medicine and musculoskeletal health and are grounded in a biopsychosocial approach to persistent pain.
Kneed, our knee pain rehabilitation program, was developed during Dr Johns’ doctoral research at Monash University and evaluated in a randomised controlled trial, with results published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Clinical Rehabilitation.
This research-led approach underpins the design of all programs developed by The Rehabilitation Medicine Group.
Our programs
Kneed
Pain rehabilitation after knee replacement
An evidence-based online program designed for people whose pain persists after knee replacement surgery
ReSpine
Pain rehabilitation for lumbar spinal canal stenosis
An online rehabilitation program for people with spinal canal stenosis causing back and leg pain
Understanding why pain persists can be reassuring and empowering, especially when recovery hasn’t gone as expected.
We offer free educational material designed to help people:
Make sense of ongoing pain
Understand how pain differs from tissue damage
Decide whether a rehabilitation approach feels right for them
This material is educational only.
There is no obligation to continue and no treatment is provided at this stage.
A rehabilitation approach to recovery
Persistent pain can be confusing and isolating especially when recovery hasn’t gone as expected.
A rehabilitation approach offers a structured way to understand pain and gradually move forward, even when progress has been slow.
You’re welcome to explore the information here and take the next step when you feel ready.
