What’s a Pain Diary and Why Do I Need It?

April 8, 2022April 8, 2022 Sono

Did you know that around 50 million people suffer from chronic pain? Chronic pain can cause disruptions in your daily life, from missing work to major family events.

Whether you’ve just started to deal with consistent soreness or have been battling it for years, a pain diary can help you document your systems. Keep track of what you feel each day so you and your healthcare provider can find a path for chronic pain management.

This guide will discuss what a pain diary is and why you need one.

Table of Contents

What’s a Pain Diary?

With a pain diary, you write down your pain occurrences each day. You can include the following details in your log:

When you have pain
What kind of pain you’re experiencing
Your level of pain
Whether your treatment plan is helping

You’ll identify the type of pain you’re experiencing by implementing a pain scale. The pain scale ranges from 0 to 10. 0 signifies no pain, and 10 is significant pain.

For example, if you have a “3” on the pain scale, you might be experiencing occasional minor pain. A level “3” pain won’t affect your daily life.

An “8” on the pain scale signifies very intense pain. This level of pain will make it difficult to do any activity.

You can also track the following in your pain diary worksheet:

Any pain medication you took and the dosage
Side effects of the medication
Anything you ate, drank, or did that might’ve made your pain worse
Anything you ate, drank, or did that might’ve made your pain better

Consider the following things as you record pain experiences in your diary:

Where is your pain located?
Is the pain throbbing, shooting, tingling, etc.?
Does your pain get worse after or before meals/
Does your pain change at various times of the day?
Does your pain prevent you from falling asleep?
Does your pain wake you up at night?

Benefits of Utilizing a Pain Diary

Using a pain diary over time can help you and your healthcare provider understand what things or actions make your pain worse or better. The pain diary will help your doctor create a roadmap for pain management.

Pain diaries can help provide relief, so your pain doesn’t interfere with your daily life. In addition to decreased pain levels, you’ll experience the following benefits by using a pain diary:

Improved communication with your healthcare providers
Better mood
Effective pain management plans
Increased self-management of your pain

Many people who experience chronic pain feel as if they don’t have control over their quality of life or health problems. Your pain diary will help you get control. You and your healthcare provider will quickly detect patterns related to your chronic pain.