However, the variety of ways of describing pain with an MPQ can be a drawback, as it requires an understanding of its vocabulary. This can be useful for assessing pain from long-lasting conditions. It also looks at how this affects someone emotionally. In addition to pain severity, the MPQ measures how pain feels physically, allowing people to describe sensations such as burning or throbbing. This pain scale is available in 17 different languages. The McGill pain questionnaire (MPQ) is another questionnaire that people fill out by themselves to measure their pain. However, it does take more time to complete than a simpler pain scale. The BPI scale also looks at how long pain lasts, as well as pain medication. It is available in many languages and contains pictures to help someone describe where their pain is. The BPI scale measures pain intensity, pain location, how much the pain interferes with daily life, and how much pain a person experiences within a certain time frame. The brief pain inventory (BPI) scale is a short questionnaire that people fill out so healthcare professionals can assess a personвЂ™s pain, and how it impacts them. Multidimensional scales Brief pain inventory scale This can be confusing for children, who may interpret the expressions as emotions, such as being happy or sad. These pain scalesвЂ™ facial expressions represent how much pain a person feels internally, rather than how their face looks externally. Doctors often use them to assess children, while they can also be useful if there is a language barrier. This final face illustrates crying.ДЇaces pain scales are easy for people to understand.

Here, 0 represents вЂњno hurt,вЂќ and 10 indicates вЂњhurts worst,вЂќ representing someoneвЂ™s worst-ever pain. The Wong-Baker scale is very similar to the FPSвЂ“R, with some differences in the facial expressions and language. The FPSвЂ“R rates pain on a scale from 1вЂ“10, with 0 representing вЂњno painвЂќ and 10 вЂњvery much pain.вЂќ Each level accompanies a facial expression, ranging from content to distressed. Pain scales with facial expressions, such as the FPSвЂ“R and the Wong-Baker scale, are among the most popular options for describing or rating pain. Share on Pinterest Design credit: Diego Sabogal How people respond to a pain scale or questionnaire can influence their treatment. However, an oncologist may choose a multidimensional scale, so they can fully understand how cancer affects a personвЂ™s life.

For example, someone working in an emergency department may prefer to use unidimensional scales, as they provide faster results.

Their field or specialism: Some pain scales may be more useful than others depending on a doctorвЂ™s specialism.

Facial expressions can be easier for people to understand if they are in shock following an injury, taking strong pain medication, or have difficulty speaking.

Cognitive ability: Similarly, people with cognitive impairments may find it easier to use a faces scale.

Healthcare professionals may prefer to use a numerical or verbal rating scale when assessing pain levels in adults.

The patientвЂ™s age or literacy level: Children and people with low literacy levels can find it easier to rate their pain using purely visual scales.

When deciding which scale to use, healthcare professionals may consider: Pain is subjective, so what one person may class as mild discomfort may be severe to someone else.Дoctors can use any pain scale type to assess how pain affects someone. It is important to note that pain scales do not provide an objective measurement of pain. Multidimensional pain scales tend to be more in-depth and take longer to use. These pain scales are unidimensional, which means people can use either words or images to describe their pain.

The verbal rating scale: A person describes their level of pain in words.

Faces pain scale вЂ“ revised (FPSвЂ“R): Uses a horizontal line, illustrated by facial expressions to represent different pain levels.

The visual analog scale: Categorizes pain along a horizontal line, ranging from mild to severe.

The numerical scale: Measures pain on a scale of 1вЂ“10.

There are many pain scales, but healthcare professionals and researchers often use one of four main types: People can use pain scales to help them describe how much pain they are feeling.

Share on Pinterest Image credit: SDI Productions/Getty ImagesДЄ pain scale is a chart that represents different levels of pain, from mild to severe.

Pain rating index