09/02/2026
A pain score is only one piece of the picture.
For patients living with chronic pain, asking “How much does it hurt?” is important—but it doesn't tell the whole story.
Effective ongoing care means looking beyond the number:
🔹 Functional ability — Can the patient work, walk, sleep, or manage daily activities?
🔹 Medication adherence & concerns — Are medications being taken as prescribed? Are there side effects, barriers, or concerns?
🔹 Sleep — Is pain disrupting sleep, or is poor sleep making pain harder to manage?
🔹 Mental & behavioral health — Are anxiety, depression, stress, or isolation affecting the patient's overall well-being?
🔹 Changes in overall health — Have new symptoms, conditions, or other changes emerged since the last visit?
Chronic pain is complex. The more complete the picture, the better equipped care teams are to understand what their patients are actually experiencing between visits.
This Pain Awareness Month, let's look beyond the pain score.
