Resources

Pain History

A complete understanding of your pain history will help your healthcare provider create an effective treatment plan. To accurately assess your pain, your healthcare provider may ask you a series of questions:

• Location
• Intensity
• Description of the sensation(s)
• Nature: Onset, duration, fluctuations
• What makes it better?
• What makes it worse?
• How does it affect your sleep, mood, appetite, activity?

Measuring Pain

Pain scales are tools that can help you describe the intensity of your pain and help your doctor or other healthcare providers diagnose or measure your level of pain. Three types of commonly used scales: 

1. Numerical scales: numbers from 0 -10 are used to rate intensity of pain (0 being no pain and 10 being the worst pain ever)
2. Verbal scales: use common words such as “mild,” “moderate” and “severe” to describe the severity of pain.
3. Visual scales: use pictures of facial expressions, colors or gaming chips to help explain the severity of pain. (insert smiley face pain rating art here)

Reference: American Pain Association

Ask your doctor about pain management and rehabilitative health options using electrotherapy available from Empi.

Rate Your Pain

This self-assessment survey may be helpful in determining whether your pain is treatable with an Empi Select device. Pease remember that only your physician should help you determine whether you are a good candidate for this therapy.
1.	Choose a number between 0 and 10 that BEST describes your average level of pain.
	Worst Possible Pain No Pain
	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2.	How long have you experienced pain?   Less than 3 months 3 months - 1 year More than 1 year
3.	Is your treatment regimen helping to relieve your pain?   Yes No
4.	Tell us about the treatments you have tried: (Check all that apply) I have taken more than one kind of medication for my pain. My pain medication does not relieve my pain. Oral medications, injections, and/or physical therapy have not done enough to relieve my pain. Surgery has failed to relieve my pain. I have been examined by a medical professional and diagnosed with cancer, nerve damage, chronic infection, or other chronic condition. I have visited a pain specialist in an effort to relieve my pain.
5.	Do you experience breakthrough pain? (Times when your current treatment can't handle your pain)   Yes No
6.	Describe your quality of life: (Check all that apply) Pain prevents me from participating in my usual daily activities. I have experienced a recent increase or change in my pain. Uncomfortable side effects from current treatments have made life less enjoyable for me and/or my family.