14 Sep Positive language and pain
As a parent or loved one we worry about our children and want to make sure that any complaint has a clear diagnosis and resolution. Have you ever considered the language you use when speaking about pain and what influence this may have on your child?
Pain is an experience that serves to protect our body from harm. If the brain detects danger and believes you need protecting, it will cause that part of your body to hurt.
Our brain learns from experiences in life and our social influences.
For example, if a 6-year old has had many falls but never had a significant injury their brain will be less likely to have a painful outcome. However, if they have had a major injury following a fall, the brain learns, and next time they fall they could have a significant pain experience yet the injury may be minimal.
The experience of pain can also be influenced by our social networks such as the way our parents talk about the injury and their level of concern.
Some easy tips:
Try to avoid using leading phrases such as “this will hurt”, “is that painful?” and use more positive language such as “how does that feel?”.
You can even try to break down the activity… “How about you try this way” as this can help the child be more confident about their functional ability and less focused on not being able to do the activity because of their pain.
Observation is your greatest tool and this is what we as physiotherapists use the most. Can they run? Can they jump? Are they smiling when playing ball games? This can tell us their level of discomfort without directly using the words ‘pain’.
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