To do this, your doctor may recommend surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy. When none of these procedures can be done, or when the cause of the pain is not known, pain-relief methods are used. This booklet describes many methods for controlling pain. They include pain medicines, operations on nerves, nerve blocks, physical therapy, and techniques such as relaxation, distraction, and imagery. If you are feeling pain, you need to be able to describe it to those who are trained to help you.
Some people find pain very hard to explain.
Try to use words that will help others understand what you are feeling. Pain has different effects on different people. The chart below may help you describe the effects that pain has on you. You may want to add other effects that you notice when you're in pain. Be sure that those who are caring for you know about them.