Back Pain Doc In New Jersey Gives Out 5 Tips to Better Understand and Describe Your Symptoms

Because describing pain using words is often difficult (we’ll get to that in a bit), many interventional pain management specialists ask their patients to use visual charts to describe the pain.

As the patient, you are given the important task of keeping track of the intensity of your symptoms, so try to be as honest and as accurate as possible, especially if you choose to keep a pain journal.

Broaden your vocabulary

The severity of your discomfort may indicate what’s causing it. For example, if the pain is scorching, stabbing, or sending electrical sensations down one leg or arm, this might be due to a compressed or inflamed spinal nerve root, a condition called radiculopathy. Herniated discs, for example, can cause lumbar radiculopathy.

To be able to accurately describe the pain in both your journal and during a conversation with the doctor, it may be worth expanding your vocabulary to include some of the terms most used to describe pain symptoms.

Doctors often use three questions to determine the type of pain a patient is dealing with. Knowing them and understanding what your doctor looks to find out by asking them may help you learn how to describe your symptoms better.

1. What does the pain feel like?

Try to use descriptive words, such as squeezing, throbbing, stabbing, flickering, or pinching.

2. How does the pain evolve over time?

This question is used to determine if pain symptoms change throughout the day. For example, pain may appear in the morning, after sitting or standing for too long, while performing certain tasks, or during certain activities.

3. How severe is the pain?

Similar to the first questions, try to use descriptive words such as mild, severe, intense, pulsating, fluctuating in intensity, or rhythmic.

Localize the pain

In some cases, the source of your discomfort may not be the source of the problem. When a nerve root is damaged, for example, pain can radiate down an arm or leg and even be felt more intensely in those areas, as in radiculopathy.

In patients with myofascial pain, symptoms of referred pain or pain that appear to be unconnected to the actual site of the problem are common as well. Note that pain may also be felt in more than one part of the body.

During the appointment, your doctor may ask you to point to the painful area on a body diagram, to make sure they understand the location of the pain is as accurate as possible. 

Note when the pain happens

When the pain happens, whether it appears abruptly or gradually, if it occurs consistently or just sometimes, or if it occurs at a specific time of day, is critical information for your doctor as they work through the diagnosis process. Changes in pain patterns are evaluated by doctors to monitor your improvement and to check for new potential problems.

A better understanding of your personal pain patterns may also assist your doctor in determining the appropriate time for you to take pain medicine.

Pain that comes and goes, for example, is known as intermittent pain, whereas pain that is constant but varies in intensity is known as variable pain. Some patients also experience breakthrough or background pain. Breakthrough pain is severe, but temporary, whereas background pain is milder but constant.

Look for changes in physical functioning

Pain is more than just a collection of unpleasant sensations. It has the ability to interrupt regular life, impeding your ability to fully participate in both work and play, as well as perform natural tasks like coughing and sneezing.

Another factor influencing your ability to function when dealing with back pain is your own assessment or evaluation of how capable you are to accomplish activities and tasks; this is known as self-efficacy. During your physical exam, the doctor will most likely ask questions about your physical functioning and how it has altered since the onset of the discomfort.

If pain is disrupting your daily activities, it is time you take care of it by scheduling a consultation with one of our board-certified physicians. We use minimally invasive treatment to successfully treat back pain issues, preventing the need for more intrusive procedures, such as spine surgery. If you are suffering from back pain, it’s best to seek treatment sooner rather than later. Schedule an appointment with one of our back pain docs in New Jersey, in Paramus on Route 17, near the Paramus Park Mall, in Clifton, NJ, on Route 46 E, past the Ford dealership, in West Orange, near the Essex Country Club, and in Woodland Park clinic, on McBride Avenue, right next to Woodland Park Dialysis Center.