Link

“The Purpose of Pain Scales” by Rhonda B. Graham

“The Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale.” From Wong D.L., Hockenberry-Eaton M., Wilson D., Winkelstein M.L., Schwartz P.: Wong’s Essentials of Pediatric Nursing, ed. 6, St. Louis, 2001, p. 1301. Copyrighted by Mosby, Inc. Reprinted by permission in “The Purpose of Pain Scales” by Rhonda B. Graham.

In order to track clients’ progress toward treatment goals, massage therapists can ask the clients to quantify their pain and stress both before and after the massage therapy treatment. This allows the MT to assess how much progress is made both during the individual session and across the span of multiple sessions.

In the informative article “The Purpose of Pain Scales,” InteliHealth writer Rhonda B. Graham discusses the use of pain scales in the medical world and outlines three options for measuring pain: visually, verbally, and numerically.

As a student massage therapist, I have been using a numerical scale to quantify clients’ pain and stress (0-10 for pain, and 0-5 for stress). However, I sometimes wonder if it would be easier for some of my clients to describe their pain in a different mode. This article opened my eyes to how I might better accommodate clients who find numerical pain scales difficult.

How do you ask your clients to quantify their pain and/or stress?