Osteoarthritis Pain

Assessment of Osteoarthritis Pain

Inspection of gait to detect the presence of a limp, deformity of the knee or instability should be performed. Examination may reveal localized tenderness and pain on passive motion, especially at the extreme of movement. Joint enlargement is common, and is caused by soft tissue changes, effusion or osteophytosis. Joint crepitus may be audible or palpable. No specific laboratory abnormalities are diagnostic in osteoarthritis; it is usually diagnosed on the basis of clinical and radiologic findings.

Whichever assessment tool is used, the same tool should be used in subsequent assessments to facilitate reliable evaluations of change.³⁹ Functional status should also be assessed, and several quality-of-life assessment tools —e.g., Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), Arthritis Impact Measurement Scale, SF-36 Health Survey— may be useful in assessing the impact of osteoarthritis pain on function.^40-42 Pain and functional status assessments should be repeated on a regular basis to evaluate the effectiveness of pain interventions.³⁹