Need for Improved Pain Assessment in Athletes

The episode addresses the need for a better understanding of how to assess pain in athletes, highlighting the limitations of traditional pain measurement tools, such as asking athletes to rate their pain on a scale. Kieron Purcell, a sports physiotherapist and researcher, emphasizes that while basic tools can provide some insight, they often fail to capture the multifaceted nature of an athlete's pain experience. He notes that the International Olympic Committee's 2017 consensus statement identifies five key domains of pain assessment, which include neurophysiological, biomechanical, cognitive, emotional, and socio-environmental factors. By focusing primarily on the first two domains, clinicians overlook important contextual factors that can significantly impact an athlete's perception and management of pain.