Do You Have A Pain Diary?

September 22, 2020 – We have reviewed in September a lot of different informational topics about pain. We have learned the different types and what it is. We have learned some strategies to help manage it. Next, we need to learn how to track and understand our own pain. This is especially important when we are having pain some days and not others. A pain diary can help you and your healthcare provider have a better understanding of what things are causing issues for you.

What to put in our pain diary?

1. We want to keep track of when our pain occurs and at what intensity. Often a scale of 0 to 10 is used. A score of “0” is no pain and a score of “10” is so much pain you feel like you need to go to the ER.
2. We want to track what type of pain we are feeling. Burning, sharp, throbbing, stabbing, etc, are all descriptive words you can use.
3. We want to track what our emotions are at the time of our pain.
4. We want to track how long the pain lasts.
5. We want to track what makes the pain better. These are non-medication pain improvers such as position, ice, heat, etc.
6. We want to track if we take any pain medication for our pain. Then we want to track what our pain level is at 60 minutes after we have taken the medication.
7.  

Once we have several, incredibly detailed entries in our pain diary we want to share that information with our medical providers. This can be extremely useful in figuring out what method of treatment we will start with in order to help you manage, improve, and hopefully eliminate your pain.

If you are in pain, follow these simple steps. First, start to record a pain diary. Second, call us in Louisville at 402-234-3333 or in Plattsmouth at 402-298-4747 to set up a free consultation to discuss your pain and your pain diary. Let us help you find the next step to help you alleviate your pain as efficiently as possible!

References:

1. https://www.everydayhealth.com/pain-management/keeping-a-diary-can-help-you-manage-pain.aspx#:~:text=A%20pain%20diary%20or%20journal,better%20help%20you%20manage%20pain.&text=Keeping%20a%20diary%20can%20help%20uncover%3A,Important%20changes%20in%20your%20condition
2. https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Health/aftercareinformation/pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=abk1346