You have been experiencing pain in your right knee due to a weekend warrior injury incident, and you visit a clinic during the weekday specializing in sports medicine and injury. The first thing the specialist asks you is this, “From a number between 1 and 10, how would you describe your pain?” I do not know about you, and I have a problem with that kind of questioning regarding the pain you are experiencing. 3, 7, 9 … heck, I am not sure! Today’s article comes from the site, Medical News Today, and it will discuss the various types of pain scales, its benefits, and limitations.
Pain scale types: Benefits and limitations
“Pain scales are tools for people to describe the level of pain they experience. Healthcare workers can also use pain scale charts to assess patients.
There are several different pain scales, each with their pros and cons.
This article explores what a pain scale is, how they work, and some benefits and limitations of the different scales.”
Click on this link to continue reading the article => Pain scale types: Benefits and limitations
The article discusses a number of popular pain scales used in the medical community to determine the severity of the physical pain you are experiencing. And, with its analysis, determines the best possible treatment for your pain. Here are the category of pain scales the article presented:
- Smiley faces with different expressions
- Unidimensional
- Multidimensional
I don’t know about you, and when the article mentioned about “… people with cognitive impairments may find it easier to use a faces scale”, it sort of offended me since I like the “faces scale”. I think it is easy to understand and respond to. I also like the “numerical rating scale”, too. Rather than having the specialist talk to you and ask, “From a scale between 1 and 10, how much pain are you experiencing?”, I would rather view and respond to a “numerical rating scale”. I like it since it groups the numbers along the scale with a specific level of pain (i.e., no pain, mild, moderate and all the way to severe).
After reading the article, what pain scale resonates with you?
To Your Success & Freedom,
Glenn Shimabukuro
