Q: When a patient comes to you for pain treatment what is the most helpful way for them to communicate it to you?

A: First we ask them, "Where is it hurting?" Then we usually ask them, "If zero is no pain at all and 10 is the worst possible, how bad does it hurt on average?" The other thing it would be nice for them to notice is what makes it better—a certain position, rubbing it? What makes it worse—walking, coughing, a certain position? That might help us figure out why the pain is there. Then it is very useful to know how it responds to painkillers. What did they take, how long did it take to work, and how long did the pain improvement last? Those are very useful pieces of information to then decide the next step.