Pain outcome measures

Pain is a complex, multi-dimensional experience that is usually associated with local tissue damage or may be referred from a distant site. Classically, pain is viewed as having sensory, affective, and cognitive components. To assess pain, however, the clinician or the researcher must use the most appropriate measure for the given situation. Many pain outcome measures are currently in use. Some of these are simple uni-dimensional scales, whereas others adopt a more multi-dimensional approach. Pain is rarely measured in isolation but must instead be put into the context of the whole person and that person's functional ability. All these factors should be borne in mind in the evaluation of pain in the hand. This paper discusses pain measurement instruments and makes recommendations for assessment of pain in the hand.