Measuring Musculoskeletal Pain in Infants, Children, and Adolescents

Zoe A Michaleff, Steven J Kamper, Jennifer N Stinson, Lise Hestbaek, Chris M Williams, Paul Campbell, Kate M Dunn

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

SYNOPSIS: Accurate, reliable, and timely assessment of pain is critical for effective management of musculoskeletal pain conditions. The assessment of pain in infants, children, and adolescents with and without cognitive impairment can be particularly challenging to clinicians for a number of reasons, including factors related to the consultation (eg, heterogeneous patient population, time constraints), the clinician (eg, awareness/knowledge of available pain scales), standardized assessment scales (eg, availability, psychometric properties, and application of each scale), the patient (eg, developmental stage, ability to communicate), and the context in which the interaction took place (eg, familiarity with the setting and physiological and psychological state). As a result, pain is frequently not assessed or measured during the consultation and, in many instances, underestimated and undertreated in this population. The purpose of this article is to provide clinicians with an overview of scales that may be used to measure pain in infants, children, and adolescents. Specifically, the paper reviews the various approaches to measure pain intensity; identifies factors that can influence the pain experience, expression, and assessment in infants, children, and adolescents; provides age-appropriate suggestions for measuring pain intensity in patients with and without cognitive impairment; and identifies ways to assess the impact of pain using multidimensional pain scales.

Original languageEnglish
JournalThe Journal of orthopaedic and sports physical therapy
Volume47
Issue number10
Pages (from-to)712–730
ISSN0190-6011
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2017

Keywords

  • Journal Article
  • Observation
  • Multidimensional pain scales
  • Pain intensity
  • Self-report
  • Cognitive impairment
  • Age Factors
  • Humans
  • Self Report
  • Parents
  • Infant
  • Pain Measurement/methods
  • Adolescent
  • Musculoskeletal Pain/complications
  • Referral and Consultation
  • Child
  • Cognition Disorders/complications
  • Communication

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