J Gerontol Nurs
-
Review
Osteoarthritic knee or hip pain: possible indicators in elderly adults with cognitive impairment.
Many elderly individuals with cognitive impairment (CI) suffer from chronic pain resulting from osteoarthritis (OA). They have diminished ability to communicate their pain to health care providers, and when pain is undetected, it may be untreated. ⋯ The review suggests that patients with severe knee or hip OA pain tend to show specific motor patterns, disturbances of gait patterns, and reduction of activity level. Therefore, these behaviors could serve as alternatives to verbal report of chronic pain in elderly individuals with Cl and knee or hip OA.