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Pain 101

How To Describe Pain

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Pain is purely subjective, so it's difficult to measure and difficult to tell other people including doctors what you are feeling.

When thinking about  how to describe pain, consider the following:

  • Where is it located?
  • Is the pain:  dull, tender, aching, cramping, shooting, burning, radiating, throbbing, stabbing, tingly, gnawing, squeezing?”
  • What is the pain level on a scale of 1 to 10? (see below)
  • How frequent is the pain?
  • Does the pain spread or move?
  • Does lying down or resting or medication relieve the pain? If so, how successfully and for how long?
  • How does the pain impact on your activities and your ability to concentrate and think clearly?
  • Do you wear or use any device to relieve the pain or its effects? Be specific and describe everything you do to relieve pain, whether it's cool baths, warm baths, staying in a dark room, listening to music, loose clothing, sunglasses to cut down on glare or whatever.

Pain Levels

A commonly used method of describing pain is a scale of 0 to 10. Zero is no pain. 10 is unbearable.

The following guidelines can help describe what you are feeling:

Score ................................... Description

0 ............................................ No pain

1 - 2 ...................................... Pain is a mild, tolerable annoyance. It isn't all that noticeable.

3-4 ........................................ Pain is distracting and irritating. While you notice it frequently, it doesn't interfere with your daily activities.

5-6 ........................................ It takes concentrated effort to perform your daily activities because the pain is disruptive. The pain is possibly even stressful. 

7-8 ........................................ Pain makes it difficult to carry out daily tasks. It may interrupt sleep. It is intrusive on your life.

9-10 ..................................... The pain is unbearable. Ordinary activities are impossible.


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