The anatomical sources of pain in the knee joint osteoarthritis

Abstract EN

Objective To find the anatomical sources of pain in the knee joint osteoarthritis, Patients 16 patients who had stage 11 or III of the tibiofemo¬ral joint osteoarthritis were studied consecutively in a one year period Method The knee joint tissues were stimulated by different stimuli (cutting, stretching, pressing, pinching, piercing, cauterization, twisting, hitting and injec¬tion ) through a plane by plane local anesthesia.

The awake patients were asked about painful sensation and whether this pain resembled their osteoarthritis pains.

Results 9 patients were women (58%) and 7 were men (42%).

The mean age for women was 61 and for men was 64 years.

The mean weight of the patients ">as 71 kg (71.5 for women and 69.4 for men).

50% of the tested joints were right knees and 50% were left ones.

12 knee joints were in stage II of tibiofemoral joint osteoarthritis and 4 were in stage 111.

Subcutaneous adipose tissue pains had no sig¬nificant relation to osteoarthritis pains.

Pressing on the knee joint capsule produced a pain similar to the osteoarthritis pains (p<0.02).

Other stimuli had no significant relation to osteoar¬thritis pains.

Synovial membrane was resistant to painful stimuli and no relation was found with os-leoarthritis puins.

Joint cartilage was rather insensitive to pabiful stimuli and no relation was found with osteoarthritic pains.

Pressing of the subchondral bone could produce 25% of pains similar to osteoarthritis but this rela¬tion was not significant Other stimuli had no rela¬tion to osteoarthritis pains.

Metaphysis was very sensitive, to normal saline injection (p

Conclusion The joint capsule and metaphysial bone were sensi¬tive to pressing and injection respectively and expe¬rienced pains similar to osteoarthritis pains .

So for the treatment of the knee joint osteoarthritis pains these two sources of puin should be regarded as responsible ones.