Pain is the most common symptom in many ailments and is often an indicator of how far the disease has progressed. Pain can also be the outcome of treatment for a condition. A further pain can be genuine, psychogenic, or phantom. Genuine pain is as a result of the ailment or its treatment. Psychogenic pain is the result of various behaviours, actions taken or mood experienced by the patient. And phantom pain is imagined pain in an organ or limb that has been removed recently.
This introduces various complexities for healthcare providers while using pain to understand the progression of the disease. To make it easy for them, different pain scales have emerged in the last hundred years to make the understanding of pain more objective.
Pain, as an outcome of an ailment of its treatment, is not a constant. It varies from person to person. The intensity or type of pain depends on the age of the person, the ailment in question, its specific symptoms, various physical conditions such as the weather, time of the day, and the action/activity the person is undertaking. Finally, it depends on co-morbidities or other health conditions present before. This makes pain a multidimensional aspect of an ailment.
At the same time, pain is an important factor while understanding the progression of the ailment and the treatment options that must be considered. That is why pain scales are required to document the level or intensity of pain correctly, the conditions leading to or arising out of the pain, and various techno-medical information. Pain scales are an excellent tool to begin an investigation into an ailment, arrive at the correct diagnosis, and to factor while designing the course of treatment.
At the time of writing this article, there are over a hundred pain scales – to address different age groups of patients and to simplify or elaborate the details. One of the criticisms against pain scales in the early years was that they oversimplify the understanding of pain. To overcome this, many complicated and multidimensional pain scales have emerged in the last few decades. Further, there are pain scales for specific conditions such as cancer, orthopaedic ailments, and even palliative care. Also, most of these scales are initially designed in English. But your doctor or nurse may have versions of the same translated into your local language.
For the sake of this article, we will consider the most common Pain Rating Scales (PRS) used in India and abroad.
Pain scales are a handy tool in the hands of doctors, nurses, and any category of a healthcare provider. If you or any of your near and dear ones are shown a pain scale during diagnosis or course of treatment, do not be surprised. Instead, acknowledge the quality of healthcare being provided by that institution. Co-operate with the doctor or nurse, and provide clear answers to their questions. This will help the doctor assess your condition precisely and design a course of treatment that results in quick recovery and rehabilitation.
Kauvery Hospital is globally known for its multidisciplinary services at all its Centers of Excellence, and for its comprehensive, Avant-Grade technology, especially in diagnostics and remedial care in heart diseases, transplantation, vascular and neurosciences medicine. Located in the heart of Trichy (Tennur, Royal Road and Alexandria Road (Cantonment), Chennai, Hosur, Salem, Tirunelveli and Bengaluru, the hospital also renders adult and pediatric trauma care.
Chennai – 044 4000 6000 • Trichy – Cantonment – 0431 4077777 • Trichy – Heartcity – 0431 4003500 • Trichy – Tennur – 0431 4022555 • Hosur – 04344 272727 • Salem – 0427 2677777 • Tirunelveli – 0462 4006000 • Bengaluru – 080 6801 6801
