The painful total knee arthroplasty: Keys to diagnosis

As the prevalance of patients living with total knee replacements continues to rise we continue to see a significant portion of patients living with pain following their primary total knee arthroplasty. For some patients, the etiology of their pain following knee replacement is obvious, yet in many cases the cause of pain remains elusive and thus creates a significant burden for the patient and treating physician. In this review article we focus on common sources of pain following knee replacement and discuss keys to diagnosis. We also propose a unique clinical pathway algorithm to guide diagnostic work up and treatment options.