Abstract
The visual analogue rating scale for pain and verbal pain descriptors from the McGill Pain Questionnaire were used to measure changes in pain severity in 77 patients treated with acupuncture for chronic low back pain. A very significant correlation was found between the visual and the verbal scales, which was maintained during repeated testing. It is suggested that the visual rating scale is suitable for repeated measurements of pain severity.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aitken, R. C. B. Measurement of feelings using visual analogue scales.Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine 1969,62 989–993.
Beecher, H. K. The powerful placebo.Journal of the American Medical Association 1955,159 1602–1606.
Freyd, M. The graphic rating scale.Journal of Educational Psychology 1923,14 83–102.
Ghiselli, E. E.Theory of Psychological Measurement. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1964.
Hornblow, A. R., and Kidson, M. A. The visual analogue scale for anxiety: A validation study.Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 1976,10 339–341.
Joyce, C. R., Zutshi, D. W., Hrubes, V., and Mason, R. M. Comparison of fixed interval and visual analogue scales for rating chronic pain.European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 1975,8 415–420.
Keele, K. D. The pain chart.Lancet 1948,2 6–8.
Lewis, T.Pain. London: Macmillan, 1942.
Melzack, R. The McGill Pain Questionnaire: Major properties and scoring methods.Pain 1975,1 277–299.
Mendelson, G., Kranz, H., Kidson, M. A., Loh, S. T., Scott, D. F., and Selwood, T. S. Acupuncture for chronic low back pain: Patients and methods.Clinical and Experimental Neurology 1977,14 154–161.
Mendelson, G., Loh, S. T., Kidson, M. A., Kranz, H., Scott, D. F., and Selwood, T. S. Acupunture treatment of chronic low back pain: A controlled double-blind crossover trial.Pain Abstracts 1978,1 186.
Ohnhaus, E. E., and Adler, R. Methodological problems in the measurement of pain: A comparison between the verbal rating scale and the visual analogue scale.Pain 1975,1 379–384.
Subcommittee on Taxonomy, International Association for the Study of Pain. Pain terms: A list with definitions and notes on usage.Pain 1979,6 249–252.
Wolff, H. G., Hardy, J. D., and Goodell, H. Studies on pain. Measurement of the effect of morphine, codeine, and other opiates on the pain threshold and an analysis of their relationship to the pain experience.Journal of Clinical Investigations 1940,19 659–680.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
The Acupuncture Study Group was supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mendelson, G., Selwood, T.S. Measurement of chronic pain: A correlation study of verbal and nonverbal scales. Journal of Behavioral Assessment 3, 263–269 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01350830
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01350830