What is Pain Assessment? – Patient History

Pain Assessment is a uniquely personal experience and every individual who suffers pain feels and reacts to it differently. Therefore, assessment of pain is important before deciding the treatment options to ensure that the clinician has a clear idea of the patient’s needs and areas of difficulty.

Poor assessment by the clinician may lead to under-treatment of pain. To avoid this, the American Pain Society (APS) has introduced pain as the ‘5th vital sign’. Meaning, pain can be considered to monitor the level of physical functioning in an individual.

In addition, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) has introduced standards that stress the patient’s right to appropriate assessment and treatment of pain. The nature of pain assessment varies based on the purpose of the assessment, the setting, the patient population, and the clinician.

However, the assessment is conducted mainly through the patient history, physical examination, and appropriate diagnostic studies.

Patient History

Self-reporting is the most reliable indicator of pain and hence talking to patients and asking them about what they feel is an integral part of pain assessment. The therapist may also want to know about your past medical history, medications, lifestyle (e.g., smoking, alcohol intake), family history, and psychosocial history.

It is important that you spend considerable time with the therapist and tell them in detail about the pain you are suffering. The therapist would want to gather information regarding the characteristics of pain, its location, duration, intensity, etc. The following table 1 gives a clear picture of the questions that your therapist is likely to ask to get your health history and understand your condition well.

Table 1: Patient History for Assessment of Pain