'Can you rate your pain from 0 to 10' isn't cutting it anymore, say some physicians

You've most likely been asked the question when visiting a doctor's office for an ailment, during a hospital stay, or during a visit to an emergency department:

"Can you rate your pain from 0 to 10?"

I usually defer to the kid's version, ranging from happy faces to contorted visages of torment because it's more relatable than putting a number on my discomfort.

The overall approach, though, is coming under scrutiny by an increasing number of physicians and nurses, who worry that some patients may be giving a lower (less painful) number inaccurately. The Chestnut Street blog quoted Dr. John Markman, one of the authors of a study on use of the numerical scale:

The numeric pain scale may just be too simplistic if your doctor gets the wrong idea about your pain, it's not just going to affect your comfort — it can affect your treatment. Especially after an injury, there's therapeutic value to keeping the pain tamped down so that you can keep up with physical therapy.

In the study, Markman and his fellow researchers used the number system on one group and a more descriptive approach (you know, words, actually talking to the patients) with another group. Instead of asking the latter to rate their pain with a number, they instead asked them to use words like "tolerable." Some doctors even urge their patients to use "flowery" language when describing how they're feeling.

Let us know what you think of the study in the comments and what works best for you when describing pain to medical providers.