Assessing Migraine Pain Levels

Pain scales, medical questionnaires, and tracking tools are useful in assessing and monitoring an individual's condition. The individual comments on their experience and shares it with their physician and treatment professionals.

The person’s proficiency in describing their experience can be helpful in prescribing medication, controlling environmental triggers, and other aspects of a medical management program.

The individual may need lifetime management of their condition and may seek multiple interventions in search of relief. Evidence of effectiveness is helpful in making optimal treatment decisions for themselves, now and in the future.

For migraine management, individuals can utilize 0-10 pain scales or delve a little deeper into the characteristics of migraine pain, since many people describe migraines at a 7 or above on the pain scale.

More detailed migraine pain scales include pain descriptors that characterize the 3D nature of the pain. The additional parameters to track include the variability in painful sensations, whether the pain is biting or sharp, or whether it includes a numbing, warm, or cold aspect.