posted 10th February 2025
Why It's Important To Track Your Daily Pain?
Consistent tracking aids in identifying triggers, effective treatments, and holistic pain management. Recording pain levels and symptoms in a diary is a more dependable method for monitoring pain than relying on memory.
- It helps record patterns over time and helps identify triggers, flare-ups, and effective relief methods.
- It is more accurate than memory and avoids misjudging past pain due to emotional shifts or adaptation.
- It helps with holistic healing. It allows for the tracking of lifestyle, diet, stress, and energy levels alongside pain.
- It is helpful for healthcare guidance and provides more precise insights when discussing symptoms with a health coach or practitioner.
Use a daily pain journal or an app to log pain intensity, type, location, time of day, mood, diet, and remedies used. This can help reduce medication reliance and encourage natural self-management strategies.
Identifying your pain triggers is crucial for managing and reducing discomfort naturally. When you are aware of what exacerbates or alleviates your pain, you can make better choices to support healing and more effective management, as well as reduce reliance on medication!
You can achieve this by:
- Keeping a pain journal – Record what you ate, did, or felt before the pain increased.
- Listen to Your Body – Notice patterns of pain flare-ups and relief.
- Adjust Holistically – Modify diet, hydration, stress levels, and energy balance.
Common Pain Triggers to Watch For:
- Food & Drink – Processed foods, sugar, dairy, gluten, caffeine, or dehydration.
- Emotional Stress – Anxiety, trauma, or unresolved emotions can manifest as pain.
- Physical Activity – Overexertion, poor posture, or lack of movement.
- Environmental Factors – Weather changes, EMF exposure, or toxin overload (water, air, chemicals).
- Medication Side Effects – Long-term use of drugs can create metabolic imbalances affecting pain perception.
How to Measure Your Pain: It’s about understanding your body’s signals
To track pain more accurately, it’s important to maintain a “Pain Journal.” Record the intensity, location, description, triggers, how it impacts on your daily life, and methods of relief, whether through external or internal medication for pain and inflammation relief.
Pain can be measured using different scales and methods to help assess its intensity, type, and impact on daily life.
1. Pain Intensity Scales
A Numeric Rating Scale – Rate pain from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain imaginable).
A Faces Scale – Using an emoji face, such as happy to crying as an indicator. This is useful for children or those who struggle with verbal expression.
A Visual Scale – Mark pain intensity on a straight line from "no pain" to "worst pain."
2. Descriptive Pain Assessment
🔹 Sharp, Dull, Burning, Throbbing? – Identifying the pain type can help pinpoint the cause.
🔹 Constant or Intermittent? – Does it come and go, or is it persistent?
🔹 Triggers & Relief – What makes it worse or better?
3. The Impact Your pain Has on Daily Life
How does it affect daily activities? – Walking, sleeping, eating, or working.
Emotional Effects – Does it cause stress, anxiety, or depression?
4. Holistic & Energy-Based Methods
Body Scanning – Feel for energy blockages or sensations that indicate pain areas. I have written a step-by-step guide on how to do this below at the end of this article.
A Somatic Awareness – Notice where tension and pain are stored in the body.
[Keep making a record by marking an outline of the human body, both front and back.
Understanding and tracking your pain can help you develop better management and healing strategies, whether through medical, holistic, or energy-based approaches.
Remember: Memory, emotions, and external factors influence the perception of pain. Individuals often struggle to accurately recall pain from the past due to:
🔹 Pain Adaptation – The body adjusts, making past pain feel less intense or more severe in hindsight.
🔹 Emotional Influence– Stress, anxiety, or depression can amplify or dull pain recall.
🔹 Lack of Tracking – Without a pain journal or scale, it’s hard to compare past and present experiences.
🔹 The Peak-End Rule – People are more likely to recall the most intense (peak) and final (end) moments of pain rather than the entire experience.
Recording the amount and frequency of medication used is crucial to managing pain effectively.
It helps you verify compliance, track effectiveness, and understand how medication fits into your overall pain management strategy.
Why Track Medication Use?
It Helps Identify Patterns – Understand how often medication is needed and whether it’s effectively managing pain.
Prevents Overuse—Monitor your medication use to avoid relying too heavily on it, ensuring it’s used only when necessary.
Monitors Side Effects – Record any side effects or changes in health that may be linked to long-term medication use.
Enhances Health Care Conversations – A journal aids your healthcare provider in assessing treatment effectiveness and exploring alternative therapies.
How to Record Medication Use
Log the Dose & Time – Make a note of the exact dosage and the time taken for each dose.
Track the Frequency—Record how often medication is needed (daily; this includes regular prescribed medication as well as “when required” medication, etc.).
Make a Note of Your Pain Levels – Pair your medication records with pain intensity to see how well the medication is working.
How To Do A Body Scan:
A body scan is a mindfulness technique employed to evaluate pain, tension, or discomfort by directing focused awareness to various parts of the body. Here is an outline of the process:
Here is a Step-by-Step Guide to a Body Scan for Pain Assessment I Use Myself
1. Find a Comfortable Position – Find a quiet space to sit or lie down where you won’t be disturbed. Close your eyes or soften your gaze to focus inward.
2. Take a Few Deep Breaths – Breathe deeply into your abdomen, allowing your body to relax with each exhalation. This helps to calm the nervous system and enhances bodily awareness.
3. Start at Your Feet – Focus your attention on your feet. Notice any sensations—warmth, tingling, numbness, tightness, or pain. Observe without judgement.
4. Gradually, Move Up the Body – Gradually shift your gaze upwards, surveying each body part:
o Ankles, calves, knees
o Thighs, hips, lower back
o Abdomen, chest, upper back
o Shoulders, arms, hands
o Neck, jaw, face, head
Spend a few moments on each area, noting discomfort, tension, or areas that feel open and relaxed.
5. Identify Pain Sensations – If you notice pain, observe its quality:
o Is it sharp, dull, throbbing, or burning?
o Does it stay in one place or move?
o Does it change with breath or movement?
o Are there any emotions attached to it?
6. Breathe Into Areas of Tension – If you experience tightness or pain, visualise directing your breath to that area, soothing it with each exhale.
7. Complete the Scan – After scanning your entire body, take a moment to reflect. Does anything feel different? Has your awareness of the pain changed?
8. Gently Return to the Present – Wiggle your fingers and toes, take a deep breath, and slowly open your eyes.
This comprehensive tracking allows for more informed decisions and better health management and is a valuable tool for holistic health assessment!
- PainManagement #MedicationTracking #HolisticHealing #BetterHealth #PainTriggers Holistic Healing #ListenToYourBody #PainAwareness #HolisticHealing #ListenToYourBody #PainTracking #HolisticHealing #ListenToYourBody #PainDiary #TrackYourHealth #HolisticPainManagement