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Traditional ideas about pain can offer a framework, but they do not replace a proper assessment. Here is how to describe pain clearly at your appointment.

Traditional theory and modern assessment

Traditional Chinese medicine often describes pain in terms of blocked flow or a lack of nourishment. Those ideas can help explain how a practitioner thinks about a problem, but a pain that is new, intense or keeps returning still has to be properly understood. Sometimes an X-ray, blood test or specialist review is the appropriate next step.

Your own description of the pain is where Dr Christine Shen, Acupuncturist, starts at the Lane Cove clinic. No needle or technique is chosen until she has a clear idea of what you are dealing with and how it affects your days.

Describing pain clearly

• Exactly where it is, and whether it spreads anywhere else.
• When it started and what you were doing at the time.
• How it affects walking, lifting, sitting, sleep or work.
• What makes it easier or harder.

Details that should never be left out

Recent injuries or falls, fever, unexplained weight loss, numbness, weakness or changes in bladder or bowel control are important to mention. Christine may recommend seeing your GP or another health professional before, or instead of, acupuncture. Choosing a technique from a list before the problem is understood gets things the wrong way round.

Setting goals you can review

Separate the symptom from the outcome you are hoping for. Being able to sit through a meeting, sleep without waking from discomfort, understand the cause better or learn when further assessment is needed are all reasonable aims. It is worth asking Christine when progress will be checked and what signs would make her rethink the approach.

Keeping a short pain diary

For a week before your first appointment, note when the pain is better or worse and what you were doing. Bring the notes to Lane Cove. A simple record like this gives Christine a much clearer picture than memory alone, and it provides a useful reference point for later review.