Let’s talk about pain: step into your power by talking about pain
by | Jan 24, 2023
Categories: Pain, Senior’s Health
What words do you use to describe your pain? What does the pain feel like?
Being able to describe your pain can help you on your health journey. Using descriptive words helps to differentiate what exactly you are experiencing and help your medical professionals deliver more accurate care. Remember, pain is individualized.
It can be hard to describe pain, but here are some vocabulary words to make it easier.
· Stabbing: a sharp pain that often comes and goes repeatedly. E.g., menstrual pain
· Aching: a dull pain that is usually constant. E.g., tension headache
· Throbbing: a pain that feels worse and better to the pace of your heart. E.g., a migraine
· Nauseating: a pain so severe you feel nauseous. E.g., severe abdominal pain
· Cramping: a tight clenching pain that may throb or be constant. E.g., a muscle cramp
· Burning: a hot pain, often associated with nerve issues or acid reflux.
· Shooting pain: usually a quick pain that moves from one place to another. E.g., sciatic pain
· Raw pain: usually associated with the skin or tongue, this pain is tender and sore like a sunburn.
· Tight pain: a pulling pain that is better when the injury is given slack.
In addition to the descriptive words above you can also use a scale of zero to ten to describe the pain. Zero is no pain and ten is the pain so severe that you are about to become unconscious due to the severity of the pain.
When you can speak about your pain, you are able to get better care.