Are Pain Ratings Irrelevant?

Abstract

Pain intensity ratings have been the basis of pain diagnosis and a fundamental tool in pain research, but are not always used. Frequent comments by physicians that pain ratings, sometimes called pain scores, are not useful in clinical practice and comments by basic scientists that pain ratings may measure the wrong thing, have been in significant part supported by a short survey conducted among members of American Pain Society (APS). Though limited by small number of respondents, the findings of this survey and additional comments by members of APS raise critical questions about why pain ratings do not serve the clinical communities. These findings send an urgent call to the pain community to reassess the status of currently used pain ratings and to find solutions to this fundamental issue.