Pain Assessment
Pain & Health-Related Functioning
These assessments explore how physical symptoms — particularly chronic pain or health conditions — affect your thoughts, confidence, movement, work, and daily life.
Pain is not only a physical experience. The way you think about pain, respond to it, and adapt your behavior can significantly influence functioning and recovery. Some people develop fear of movement, reduced confidence, or patterns of avoidance that unintentionally maintain disability.
You may consider this category if you:
- Live with ongoing or recurrent pain
- Avoid activities for fear of worsening symptoms
- Feel discouraged or helpless about your condition
- Notice pain interfering with work, social life, or independence
- Experience persistent tinnitus that affects daily functioning
If your primary concern is emotional distress unrelated to a physical condition, other categories may be more relevant. This section focuses on the interaction between physical symptoms and psychological functioning.
These tools do not diagnose medical conditions. They help clarify how symptoms are affecting your life and coping patterns.
Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS)
What this looks at
The PCS measures catastrophic thinking related to pain, including rumination (“I can’t stop thinking about it”), magnification (“This is terrible”), and helplessness (“There’s nothing I can do”).
You may want to take this if you:
- Feel overwhelmed by pain
- Expect the worst when symptoms flare
- Have difficulty shifting attention away from pain
- Feel discouraged or powerless in managing symptoms
You may not need this if:
Pain is present but does not trigger strong emotional or cognitive reactions.
This measure focuses on your thought patterns about pain rather than pain intensity itself.
Start Assessment →Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (PSEQ)
What this looks at
The PSEQ measures your confidence in your ability to function despite pain.
You may want to take this if you:
- Question whether you can stay active with pain
- Avoid tasks because you doubt your ability to cope
- Want to track improvements in confidence during rehabilitation
You may not need this if:
Pain does not significantly limit your daily activities.
This measure focuses on confidence and functional resilience rather than distress.
Start Assessment →Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK)
What this looks at
The TSK assesses fear of movement and fear of re-injury.
You may want to take this if you:
- Avoid physical activity due to fear of worsening pain
- Feel anxious about exercise or rehabilitation
- Limit movement even when medically cleared
You may not need this if:
Fear of movement is not a concern.
This measure helps identify whether fear-based avoidance may be contributing to ongoing disability.
Start Assessment →Work and Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS)
What this looks at
The WSAS measures how much a health problem (physical or psychological) interferes with work, home management, social activities, private leisure, and close relationships.
You may want to take this if you:
- Feel your condition is disrupting daily responsibilities
- Are unsure how much your functioning has changed
- Want a simple measure of real-world impact
You may not need this if:
Your symptoms have minimal impact on daily functioning.
This measure focuses on impairment rather than symptom severity.
Start Assessment →Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI)
What this looks at
The THI measures how tinnitus (persistent ringing or noise in the ears) affects emotional well-being, concentration, sleep, and daily functioning.
You may want to take this if you:
- Experience persistent tinnitus
- Feel distressed or distracted by ear noise
- Notice sleep disruption or irritability linked to tinnitus
You may not need this if:
You do not experience tinnitus.
This measure evaluates functional and emotional impact rather than the loudness of tinnitus itself.
Start Assessment →