nts are contributing to the pain. Placebo injections have been advocated in a diagnostic regime that also includes local anaesthesia, with a decision to proceed to neurotomy based on response to local anaesthesia and not to placebo. Objectives: We investigated the magnitude of and response rate to placebo injections, and the roles of expectation, desire for pain relief, and anxiety as determinants of response to placebo. Methods: One hundred twenty patients were randomised to receive placebo…