The effect of acute pain on proprioceptive performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Aberrant proprioception is hypothesised to contribute to suboptimal motor adaptations that promote pain persistence. However, when these impairments in proprioception develop in the transition from acute to chronic pain is not well understood. Understanding the nature and time course of proprioceptive changes early in pain development may reveal critical insights. The primary aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was, therefore, to evaluate the influence of acute pain on proprioception. Six databases (Pubmed, Medline, Web of Science, Psychinfo, Embase, and Scopus) were searched from inception to May 18^th, 2026 for studies examining the effect of experimentally-induced or clinical pain of < 3 months' duration on behavioural measures of proprioception. Behavioural outcomes included joint position reproduction, threshold to detect passive motion, force matching, velocity detection, and left/right judgement tasks (LRJT). Included articles (27 studies, n = 4,019 participants) were critically appraised using a modified Downs and Black checklist. Meta-analyses were performed using a random effects model on LRJT, and all other outcomes were synthesised descriptively due to study heterogeneity. The analysis revealed that individuals with acute clinical pain demonstrated worse accuracy on the LRJT when identifying images corresponding to the affected side (MD = -8.64, 95% CI = -16.93 to -0.34), with no corresponding change in response time. Acute pain was also associated with impairments in position and movement sense in a joint- and angle dependent manner. Interpretation of these findings should consider the heterogeneity of acute pain conditions included, particularly clinical and experimental models involving tissue injury or inflammation that may independently influence proprioceptive performance. Together, these findings raise the possibility that acute pain disrupts both sensory feedback relating to position and movement sense and processing of somatotopic proprioceptive representations. PERSPECTIVE: This review suggests that acute pain may alter proprioception in task-specific ways, disrupting position and movement sense as well as somatotopic body-related processing. These findings may help clarify early sensorimotor changes that contribute to maladaptive movement and provide mechanistic insight into the transition from acute to persistent pain.