Remember, a pain assessment scale is just a tool and it must work for its user. The right one will be very accessible and will just “fit.” It will make sense to you and how you experience pain. We’ve pulled together a list of 15 of our favorite pain scales to help you get started. But we can aim for a level that still allows you a good quality of life.” The fact is that we probably can’t bring chronic pain down to zero. That level of pain becomes the benchmark to which we compare the current pain… I also ask people to show me on the pain scale what an acceptable level would be. It might be a kidney stone or childbirth. “I ask people to remember the worst pain they’ve ever experienced in their lives. explains how to conceptualize the top of your pain measurement. Savage, MD, incoming president of the American Pain Society and an adjunct associate professor of anesthesiology at Dartmouth Medical School in Hanover, N.H. You have to find a pain measurement that works for you, consistently and easily.

Or, they can be personalized interpretations of how pain affects you in your life, always there in your pocket with a pain app like PainScale.īut, as always, pain is subjective. These scales can also rely on visual indicators or facial expressions to judge pain. They can be a scale from one to ten, with ten being the worst pain imaginable and one being no pain at all. And they can track your pain day over day, especially when used in combination with a pain diary app or journal. Pain assessments and scales are the best way to communicate with your doctor what you’re feeling and how bad your pain is. Here’s 15 of our favorite pain scales, with advice at the end for finding the best one for you to use. They can help you get a better diagnosis and treatment for your pain. Pain scales are an excellent way to better share how you’re feeling with your doctor. They can also be judged by behavioral or observation (especially in the case of kids or people who are unable to speak). These scales can be self-reported verbal rating scales, as in you explain your pain symptoms according to the measurement given.

They’re often based on cartoons or numbers. A pain scale is typically a visual method that allows you to systematically track your pain, its intensity, and other symptoms.

Printable pain scale 1 10