4/7/2016 Pain—GuidetoPhys.TherapistPrac.
http://guidetoptpractice.apta.org/content/1/SEC22.body 1/2
Pain
Pain
is a disturbed sensation that may cause disability, suတering, or distress.
Physical therapists use tests and measures to determine a cause or a mechanism for an individual's pain and to
assess the intensity, quality, and temporal and physical characteristics associated with the pain.
Examples of Clinical Indications:
Risk factors for pain
Disease history
Habitual suboptimal posture
Injury and/or surgery history
Risk-prone behaviors (eg, lack of use of safety gear, performance of tasks and activities requiring
repetitive motion)
Sedentary lifestyle
Health, wellness, and တtness needs
Fitness, including physical performance (eg, decreased ability to tolerate strength training due to
pain, limited participation in leisure sports due to pain)
Health and wellness (eg, inadequate knowledge about living with pain)
Pathology or health condition
Cardiovascular (eg, myocardial infarction, peripheral arterial occlusive disease)
Endocrine or metabolic (eg, osteoporosis, rheumatologic disease)
Integumentary (eg, burn, incision, ulcer, wound)
Musculoskeletal (eg, amputation, fracture, spinal stenosis, temporomandibular joint dysfunction
[TMJ])
Neuromuscular (eg, nerve compression, spinal cord injury [SCI])
Pain (eg, reတex sympathetic dystrophy)
Pulmonary (eg, lung cancer, pleurisy)
Multisystem (eg, trauma, rheumatoid arthritis [RA])
Impairments of body functions and structures
Circulation (eg, decreased ability to walk due to chest discomfort)
Integumentary (eg, limited range of motion due to painful rash or scar)
Joint integrity (eg, decreased range of motion due to knee pain)
Muscle performance (eg, weakness due to muscle injury and pain)
Posture (eg, forward head position causing altered temporomandibular dysfunction and pain)
Ventilation (eg, decreased expansion due to splinting of painful chest wall)
Activity limitations and participation restrictions
Self-care (eg, di†culty with eating due to jaw pain)
Domestic life (eg, inability to shovel snow due to shoulder soreness)
Education life (eg, di†culty concentrating on studies due to pain in temporomandibular joint)
Work life (eg, inability to mop တoor due to chest pressure)
Community, social, and civic life (eg, inability to canoe due to backache, inability to play with
grandchildren because legs ache while walking)
