• Assaf Albagli, Ehud Rath, Matias Vidra, David Ben Haroush, Shai Factor, and Eyal Amar.
• Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel, affiliated with Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
• Isr Med Assoc J. 2024 Jun 1; 26 (6): 346350346-350.

BackgroundIntra-articular knee injections (IAKI) are commonly used for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes but may induce anxiety and fear. While existing literature has identified the variance between expected and actual pain levels in various medical procedures, this phenomenon remains unexplored in the context of IAKI.ObjectivesTo describe the differences between anticipated and experienced pain recorded during IAKI.MethodsThe study cohort included 50 patients who underwent IAKI by an orthopedic specialist in an outpatient clinic. Patients recruited to the study recorded the anticipated and experienced pain, anxiety index, and factors influencing injection related fear.ResultsThe study population (n=50) demonstrated a significant difference between the pain expected before the injection (mean Visual Analogue Scale [VAS] score 6.19) and the actual experienced (mean VAS score 2.07, P-value < 0.001). Significant differences between anticipated and experienced VAS scores were demonstrated for both females and males. There was a significant difference between males and females in terms of estimated VAS score. There was no significant difference between males and females in term of the experienced VAS score. The difference (delta) between expected and experienced pain differed significantly between sexes.ConclusionsThese findings emphasize the importance of educating patients about expected pain levels during IAKI. Presenting this quantified information may reassure patients that the procedure is not as painful as expected, which can potentially increase the compliance.

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