A comparison of three ways of measuring pain

In a double-blind cross-over trial of azapropazone and indomethacin in 20 patients with osteoarthritis of the hip and knee with four weeks on each drug, three methods of assessing pain and pain relief were used. These methods were a simple five-point rating scale, an analogue scale and an eight-point scale using pictures. Acceptable correlation was shown between all three scales in measurement of changes in degree of pain. The picture scale could be useful in patients with language or mental capacity difficulties.