Table 2.
Aspects of pain assessed by the 5 most commonly used multi-item tools*
| AKSS | WOMAC | HSS | SF-36 | OKS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of pain questions in tool | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Pain severity | 1 question (pain severity) | 5 questions (pain severity on different activities) | 2 questions (pain severity on rest and walking) | 1 question (bodily pain severity) | 2 questions (average pain severity and pain severity standing from chair) |
| Use of pain medications | – | – | – | – | – |
| Pain quality (affective and sensory qualities of pain) | – | – | – | – | – |
| Temporal aspects of pain (e.g., variability, pattern, frequency, and duration) | 1 question (response options of occasional or continual pain) | 1 question (pain severity at night) | – | – | 1 question (frequency of being troubled by pain at night) |
| Physical functioning (pain-related interference with activity or movement) | 1 question (response options of pain severity on walking and climbing stairs) | 4 questions (pain severity on walking, climbing stairs, sitting or lying, and standing upright) | 1 question (pain severity on walking) | 1 question (interference of pain with normal work) | 3 questions (interference of pain with normal work, distance walked before pain becomes severe, and severity of pain on standing from chair) |
| Emotional functioning (pain-related emotional distress) | – | – | – | – | 2 questions (being troubled by pain at night and response option of unbearable pain) |
| Participant ratings of global improvement | – | – | – | – | – |
*
AKSS = American Knee Society Score; WOMAC = Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index; HSS = Hospital for Special Surgery Knee Score; SF-36 = Short Form 36; OKS = Oxford Knee Score.