Elbow: Evaluation tools
Contrary to popular belief osteoarthritis is not synonymous with ageing; it is a disease of the cartilage with various origins.
To assess your situation with regard to osteoarthritis, two notions are considered: on the one hand the factors that may cause its onset (see risk factors) and on the other hand the impact on your daily life.
In this section we offer evaluation methods either of your symptoms or your quality of life on a daily basis.
- Pain self-evaluation tools
- Evaluation Tools for assessing the impact of osteoarthritis on your daily life
It is difficult to assess pain as each person expresses what they feel with more or less ease: it is a very subjective notion. Some people are "tough nuts" and do not talk about their pain very much while others are more "sensitive".
To help your doctor to quantify your sensation of pain, there are tools for self-evaluation of pain that you complete yourself. This will allow you to show your results to your doctor during a consultation.
There are three main tools which are: (Source: DGS 8, av. de Ségur 75007 Paris)
Your doctor may have already suggested you fill in one of these questionnaires to assess the impact of osteoarthritis on your daily life.
In order to have a faithful record of the evolution of your disease, we would like to suggest that you complete it, print out a copy, give it to your doctor and talk to him or her about it in a concrete way.
This questionnaire assesses your health in a comprehensive way over the past 4 weeks, irrespective of the location of the osteoarthritis.
