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My Stem Cell Guide
24 activities, three domains

Knee pain and function score

Rate how the last 48 hours have gone across pain, stiffness and the things you do every day. You get a score out of 100, broken down by domain, that means something when repeated in three months.

Rate the last 48 hours. 0 is none, 4 is extreme.

0 of 24

Pain

How much knee pain have you had in the last 48 hours when you are

0 None1 Mild2 Moderate3 Severe4 Extreme

Walking on flat groundWalking on flat ground
Going up or down stairsGoing up or down stairs
In bed at nightIn bed at night
Sitting or lying downSitting or lying down
Standing uprightStanding upright

Stiffness

How stiff has the knee felt

0 None1 Mild2 Moderate3 Severe4 Extreme

First thing after waking upFirst thing after waking up
Later in the day, after sitting or restingLater in the day, after sitting or resting

Daily function

How much difficulty have you had

0 None1 Mild2 Moderate3 Severe4 Extreme

Going down stairsGoing down stairs
Going up stairsGoing up stairs
Standing up from a chairStanding up from a chair
Standing still for a few minutesStanding still for a few minutes
Bending down to the floorBending down to the floor
Walking on flat groundWalking on flat ground
Getting in or out of a carGetting in or out of a car
Going around a shopGoing around a shop
Putting on socks or shoesPutting on socks or shoes
Getting out of bedGetting out of bed
Taking off socks or shoesTaking off socks or shoes
Lying in bed and turning overLying in bed and turning over
Getting in or out of a bathGetting in or out of a bath
Sitting downSitting down
Getting on or off the toiletGetting on or off the toilet
Heavier jobs around the houseHeavier jobs around the house
Lighter jobs around the houseLighter jobs around the house

Answer any item to start scoring. Higher scores mean more symptoms.

Information only. Not medical advice or an endorsement. Always consult a licensed physician. Individual results vary and no outcome is guaranteed.

What this is, and what it is not

It is a structured self-assessment covering the same three domains clinicians use for knee osteoarthritis: pain, stiffness, and difficulty with daily activity. Twenty-four items, each rated from none to extreme, normalised onto a 0 to 100 scale where higher means more symptoms.

It is not WOMAC. WOMAC is a licensed instrument and its item wording is not ours to reprint, so the questions here are written for this page. They cover the same activity domains in the same structure and on the same response scale, which makes the score comparable in shape but not identical to a formal one. If a clinician needs a WOMAC or a KOOS score, they will administer the real instrument.

Why a number is worth having

Because "a bit better, I think" is unusable and 58 down to 41 is not. Symptom recall is poor over months, and pain in particular is remembered against how you feel today rather than how you felt in March. A score taken before treatment and repeated at three and six months is the closest thing you get to an honest answer about whether something worked.

The domain breakdown is often more informative than the total. A knee that scores high on stiffness and low on pain is a different problem from one that scores the other way round, and a treatment that shifts function while leaving night pain untouched has told you something specific.

What the bands mean

Below 20 is minimal, symptoms are around but not shaping the day. From 20 to 40 is mild, showing up in particular activities. From 40 to 60 is moderate and is the range where a clinical assessment is worth arranging. Above 60 is severe, most listed activities affected, and the range in which surgical options are usually discussed. Above 80, see a clinician rather than working from anything you scored online.

Taking it to an appointment

Print or note the domain scores and the date. Clinicians take a dated, structured self-report seriously, and it saves the first ten minutes of the appointment being spent constructing one from memory.

Common questions

Is this the WOMAC score?

No. WOMAC is a licensed instrument and its wording is not reproduced here. This questionnaire covers the same three domains, pain, stiffness and physical function, across the same number of items and on the same five-point scale, with wording written for this page. Use it to track yourself over time. For a formal score, a clinician will administer the validated instrument.

What score means I need a knee replacement?

No score decides that on its own. Surgical decisions rest on imaging, examination, what has already been tried, your other health conditions and how much the knee is affecting your life. A high score is a reason to have the conversation, not an answer to it.

How often should I retake it?

Before starting any treatment, then at three and six months. More often than monthly adds noise rather than signal, because normal week-to-week variation in knee symptoms is larger than most people expect.

Does a lower score mean treatment worked?

It is evidence, not proof. Knee symptoms fluctuate on their own, they improve with activity changes and weight loss, and expectation affects reported pain substantially. A drop after treatment is encouraging and worth recording. It is not the same as knowing the treatment caused it.

Can I use this for both knees?

Score them separately, one at a time, thinking about a single knee as you answer. Rating both together produces a number that describes neither.

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