Abstract
Aims: Measuring clinical pain is hampered by few methods which properly compare values across patients. The purpose of this study is to describe a method to induce pain, assess pain threshold and tolerance, and determine a matching score for the visual analog scale.
Method: An experimental apparatus was used to induce pain. Thirty-six healthy subjects and 10 patients participated. Healthy subjects and pain patients were assessed for strength, pain threshold, and pain tolerance on both hands, and the patients were measured on the matching score and the visual analog scale. Data were evaluated for internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and convergent validity.
Results: The apparatus was internally consistent and reliable in provoking experimental pain. Validity was found between the visual analog scale and the matching pain score. Strength correlated with pain for healthy subjects, but not among patients.
Conclusions: The apparatus was useful for inducing and studying experimental pain and for matching pain scores and may offer a way to compare scores across pain patients.