RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access

Full list of author information is available at the end of the articleBackground Dementia affects an estimated 44.4 million people worldwide – a figure which is set to rise – and represents an important public health issue, costing an estimated US $604 billion each year [1]. Dementia presents a particular challenge for treatment and care due to the progressive cognitive and functional decline that are hallmarks of the condition. In particular, loss of language and the ability to communicate raises the risk of unmet need. A critical example of this issue is in the assessment of pain. Pain is common in older adults, with up to one third of community-dwelling people over 60 experiencing regular pain and 50 % of people over 80 regularly taking analgesics [2]. Although pain in dementia is difficult to assess, the literature agrees that at least 50 % of people with dementia also regularly experience pain [3], which is predominantly, but not exclusively related to the musculoskeletal system. Osteoarthritis is very common in these individuals [4], and * Correspondence