Pain is a frequent problem linked to musculoskeletal issues and is one of the main reasons we stop or modify our activities. It can create feelings of frustration and fear and whilst it is influenced by tissue damage, it is also heavily linked to feelings such as stress and disappointment.
This is why it is important to track and record regular pain scores as we move through the rehab process. It helps to bring objectivity to what is ultimately a subjective experience and it highlights whether the intervention is having a meaningful impact on your condition. Tracking pain can also highlight areas where we need to spend more time before moving on to the next stage of rehab.
Bringing Objectivity to Subjectivity
Have you ever been on the track and felt like you’d given Usain Bolt a run for his money but actually recorded a much slower time than you expected? Or felt slow as you struggle your way through a WOD only to discover you’ve recorded your fastest ever time? This is pretty common and shows that our perception of performance doesn’t always correlate with how we are actually performing. It is the same when recovering from an injury. Pain is a very subjective thing. We will never know how another person experiences pain and our rating of it depends on lots of factors. By trying to translate those subjective feelings of pain into a numerical value we can start to bring a level of objectivity that enables us to review our progress over time.
If you have had an injury before, you’ll know the joy of feeling you are recovering and also the frustrations of feeling like the progress is too slow. In these moments it’s easy to think “this isn’t working!” But looking back at your pain scales can help to take you out of this subjective moment. You might think “my pain is a 5/10 today and it was only 3/10 yesterday so I’m going backwards”. But then you see that your pain was 7/10 when you began the rehab journey and you weren’t even that active at that point. Now you are more active and your pain is almost 30% lower than when you started. Rehab is rarely linear. So the comparison enables you to get perspective and recognise your progress over time.
The Numeric Pain Rating Scale
At Optimi we use the Numeric Pain Rating scale so you can track your pain progress. We use this tool because it is super quick, super easy and is backed by credible research, showing it’s both reliable and valid in measuring improvements in pain.
We use a simple scale from 0 to 10, where 0 represents ‘no pain at all’ and 10 represents ‘the worst pain possible’. Changes in pain scores of 1.5 points indicate a small meaningful change, 3.0 points is a medium meaningful change and 3.5+ points is a large meaningful change.
When performing rehabilitation exercises, it is ok to experience small amounts of pain as you work through your recovery or management programme. However 5 or above suggests you are pushing too hard and should ease off.
If you’re wondering whether or not you’re making progress, then tracking your pain levels can be a helpful part of your rehab plan. If you need more guidance, our sports medicine team can help.
