This scale was sent to me in email, without any attribution. If anybody knows where it came from I will cheerfully obtain the appropriate permissions to post it here and add an attribution as needed. It seems to be a very good scale though (as a person living with severe chronic pain, I can relate to the levels), although a lot of the drugs seem to be brand names from the USA and won't make sense to people in other countries.
0
- Pain free
- 1
- Very minor annoyance - mild aches to some parts of the body. No pain medication needed.
- 2
- Minor annoyance - dull aches to some parts of the body. No pain medication needed.
- 3
- Annoying enough to be distracting. Over-the-Counter pain relievers (such as Naproxen Sodium, Acetamonophen, or topical treatments such as Absorbine or Arthritis Pain relieving rubs) take care of it.
- 4
- Can be ignored if you are really involved in your work, but still distracting. Over-the-Counter pain relievers remove pain for 3-4 hours.
- 5
- Can't be ignored for more than 30 minutes. Over-the-Counter pain relievers help somewhat (bring pain level from 5 to a 3 or 4) with pain for 3-4 hours.
- 6
- Can't be ignored for any length of time, but you can still go to work and participate in social activities. Stronger painkillers (such as Ultram) relieve pain for 3-4 hours.
- 7
- Makes it difficult to concentrate, interferes with sleep. You can still function with effort. Stronger painkillers (such as Ultram) are only partially effective. (Stronger pain killers bring pain from a 7 to 4-6.)
- 8
- Physical activity severely limited. You can read and converse with effort. Stronger pain killers (such as Ultram) are not effective. (Narcotic pain killers do bring this pain down to a level 3 or lower.)
- 9
- Non functional for all practical purposes. Cannot concentrate. Physical activity halted. Panic sets in.(Narcotic Pain killers bring the pain level from 9 to the 4-6 level.)
- 10
- Totally non-functional. Unable to speak. Crying our or moaning uncontrollably - near delirium.
