Pain Assessment

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Pain phases

When assessing pain it is important to recognise the differences between acute and chronic pain and the implications for assessment and management of the patient. each of these phases presents:

1. Acute
2. Subacute
3. Chronic

Acute pain phase

In the acute pain phase performance of a comprehensive assessment using reliable and validated tools to prevent the onset of chronicity is of utmost importance.

Multidimensional approach

When assessing pain we use a biopsychosical approach for assessment of pain and disability as it accounts for the multidimensional nature of pain in domains relevant to physical therapy practice.

A biopsychosocial assessment should seek to identify the following:

• Bio (triage and identification of the pathology)
• Psycho (psychological distress, fear/avoidance beliefs, current coping methods and attribution)
• Social (work issues, family circumstances and benefits/economics)

Primary domains of pain

During our assessment we must account for the multidimensional nature of pain by including appropriate assessment measures for primary domains including:

• Sensory
• Affective
• Cognitive
• Physiological
• Behavioral

Pain measures

Commonly used measures for different pain dimensions include:

• Self-report measures
• Physical performance measures including Functional Capacity Evaluations (FCEs)
• Physiological/autonomic response measures 
  

These measures each have their own strengths and limitations for different pain dimensions which we must recognise:

Individualised assessment

It is important to modify pain assessment strategies to match inherent variability associated with the patient's clinical presentation:

• Individual factors (e.g. age, sex, etc.)
• Sociocultural influences (e.g. spirituality, ethnicity, etc.)
• Clinical characteristics of pain (e.g. duration, anatomical location, etc.)
• Pain type and state (e.g. neuropathic pain, cancer pain, etc.)
• Vulnerable populations (e.g. communication barriers, cognitive impairment etc.)

Outcomes of pain assessment

Following assessment of pain suitable management strategies can be implemented.  However, as always, it is important to understand the need to:

1. monitor and review the effectiveness of treatment/management and modify treatment and management strategies appropriately.
2. refer to relevant health professional as appropriate and in a timely manner.
   

References

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