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When I visited my neighbor in the hospital, I saw a big picture of different faces on the wall. They ranged from very sad to neutral to very happy. What is this for?
You’re seeing one form of the visual analogue scale (VAS). This is a helpful tool that measures pain. Patients choose the face that best shows how they feel.
The same kind of measure can be done using numbers. The doctor, nurse, or physical therapist may ask the patient to rate the pain from zero (none) to 10 (worst).
Researchers with the Swedish Lumbar Spine Study say that this simple test is still very accurate. Even small changes in the patient’s symptoms or function show up.
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