http://www.valis.com/andi/painscale.html
0 = Pain Free...No medication needed.
1 = Very minor annoyance...occasional minor twinges. No medication needed.
2 = Minor annoyance...occasional strong twinges. No medication needed.
3 = Annoying enough to be distracting. Mild painkillers are effective. Aspirin, Ibuprofen. )
4 = Can be ignored if you are really involved in your work, but still distracting. Mild painkillers relieve pain for 3-4 hours.
5 = Can't be ignored for more than 30 minutes. Mild painkillers reduce pain for 3-4 hours.
6 = Can't be ignored for any length of time, but you can still go to work and participate in social activities. Stronger painkillers ( Codeine, Vicodin ) reduce pain for 3-4 hours.
7 = Makes it difficult to concentrate, interferes with sleep You can still function with effort. Stronger painkillers are only partially effective. Strongest painkillers relieve pain ( Oxycontin, Morphine )
8 = Physical activity severely limited. You can read and converse with effort. Nausea and dizziness set in as factors of pain. Stronger painkillers are minimally effective. Strongest painkillers reduce pain for 3-4 hours.
9 = Unable to speak. Crying out or moaning uncontrollably -- near delirium. Strongest painkillers are only partially effective.
10 = Unconscious. Pain makes you pass out. Strongest painkillers are only partially effective.
I devised this pain scale to help me describe the subjective experience of pain in more concrete terms to my doctors and family. Please feel free to use it and distribute it with attribution.
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1997 Andrea Mankoski. All rights reserved.
Right to copy with attribution freely granted.