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Patients > Inpatient Information > Pain Management

Pain Management

Pain management is an important part of your recovery and well being. At Jefferson Healthcare, we are committed to pain management. You will be given information about pain and pain control as part of your treatment.

You can expect to be asked about your level of pain regularly and your caregiver will respond quickly to your reports of increased pain.

When a caregiver asks you to rate your pain, you will use a pain scale with zero meaning no pain, and ten meaning the most uncomfortable.

Some of the questions caregivers may ask to evaluate your pain are:

Do you hurt or are you uncomfortable now?
After medication, how quickly does the pain come back?
What is your pain rating?
Where does it hurt?
Describe the pain (dull, aching, stabbing, shooting, burning, throbbing, tingling, cramping).
How long have you been hurting?
When do you hurt (all the time or does it come and go)?
What makes the pain better and what makes it worse?
Does the pain affect your sleep, appetite, emotions, activity, relationships and concentration?
What are you doing to relieve the pain now?
How well is this working?
What is your goal for managing the pain?

What can be done to manage pain?

There are a number of different pain medications that doctors may prescribe. Sometimes a patient needs one medication and sometimes he or she needs a combination. Generally it is best for you to take pain medication regularly and before the pain increases.

Medications are administered in a number of ways: orally; by injection, intravenously; through Patient Controlled Anesthesia (the patient pushes a button and controls the medication administered through an IV); and through an epidural (a tube inserted into the back).

Prescription medication, when used as directed, is rarely addictive. Some of the common side effects are constipation, nausea and drowsiness. Most side effects are easily managed.

In addition to pain medication, there are things you can do to help reduce or relieve your pain:

Change position
Breathe deeply and slowly
Listen to music
Apply ice or heat
Meditate
Talk with a friend
Keep active
Do something absorbing and distracting