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The Emotional Dimensions of Pain Assessment
Take your mind back to your last pain assessment. I can bet good money pain intensity was measured (that 0 - 10 'how much does it hurt' question). Where it hurts on a body map. Perhaps even duration and constancy (intermittent, ongoing, fluctuating). Quality or 'what does it feel like?' could be included: burning, aching, gripping, cramping, stabbing.... All excellent things to know as clinicians, and as people seeking help - we need to know 'what it is like' because none of us can feel another's pain, and yet clinical decision-making relies on it.