Responsiveness of pain scales: a comparison of three pain intensity measures in chiropractic patients.

Given the relative ease of use and scoring of the 11-point NRS, and the obvious advantages of using responsive evaluative measures, this scale is recommended for pain intensity measurement in most types of outcome studies. Furthermore, asking patients to report their usual pain levels, rather than current levels, enhances the responsiveness of the measures and is a more representative perspective of their pain experience. The findings of this study have important implications for investigators who wish to select the most appropriate pain scale for use an outcome measure in treatment evaluative trials.