Week 1: Pain Assessment

Question 1

What is pain? (Define pain)

Answer 1

Pain is defined as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage
or described in terms of such damage

Question 2

What is acute pain?

Answer 2

Acute pain results from tissue damage – ie. injury or surgery , or MI (heart attack)
Unpleasant acute pain promotes survival (physiological purpose).
Acute pain is short-term pain of less than twelve weeks duration.

Question 3

What is chronic pain?

Answer 3

pain that persists beyond normal healing time

Question 4

Define Nociceptive (pain)?

Answer 4

Nociceptive pain arises from actual or threatened damage to non-neural tissue and due to activation of
nociceptors. It occurs with a normally functioning nervous system versus abnormal functioning in
neuropathic pain

Question 5

Define Neuropathic (pain)?

Answer 5

Neuropathic pain is caused by a lesion or disease of the somatosensory nervous system.

Question 6

Define Gate Control Theory

Answer 6

The Gate-Control Theory of pain perception was developed by Melzack and Wall’s who indicated that the spinal cord contains a type of neurological “gate” which opens and closes to either allow or block pain signals to travel to the brain

Question 7

What are the 4 components of pain?

Answer 7

1. Sensory / Physical*
   Action in pain nerves and effect on physiological status, severity
2. Emotional/affective
   How the pain makes us feel, fears, knowledge
3. Cognitive
   The effect of pain on behaviour, coping strategies, what does it mean
4. Social
   Our behaviour, how we react and respond

Question 8

What is the role of acute pain?

Answer 8

To alert and protect the body from further harm

Question 9

What are the different ways to classify pain?

Answer 9

DURATION
Acute vs. Chronic

FREQUENCY
Continuous vs. Intermittent

FORM
Nociceptive vs. neuropathic

ASSOCIATED WITH CANCER
With cancer and/or with treatment for cancer
This actually gets its own class

Question 10

What is central sensitization?

Answer 10

Central sensitization is that response produced by continuous pain that persists even after the pain stimulus is gone

Question 11

What is the most reliable indicator of the existence of pain and its intensity?

Answer 11

the client’s description

Question 12

What factors influence pain for a patient?

Answer 12

Age
Gender 
Culture
Spiritual
Family and social support
The personal meaning of the pain
Level of anxiety
Coping style
Fatigue
Previous experiences of pain

Question 13

Define hyperglycemia

Answer 13

an excess of glucose in the bloodstream, often associated with diabetes mellitus
AKA
High blood sugar

Question 14

What does poorly managed pain result in?

Answer 14

increased circulating stress hormones which contributes to a decrease in quality of life

Question 15

What are the pain levels typically?

Answer 15

MILD PAIN – 1-3
MODERATE PAIN 4-6
SEVERE 7-10