Visual Analog Scale for Pain
A visual analogue scale for pain lets a person mark intensity along a line. This page is for clinics. It is not a diagnosis and not a public test.
Overview
What is the VAS?
A pain VAS is a single-intensity rating, not a multidimensional inventory. It does not describe interference, neuropathic features, or function, and it does not diagnose a pain condition.
Development and clinical use
Hawker and colleagues describe a 100 mm line anchored No pain and Worst imaginable pain, with no fixed recall window. Jensen, Chen and Brugger (2003) describe 0-4 as no pain, 5-44 as mild, 45-74 as moderate and 75-100 as severe. Those ranges describe the mark. They are not a treatment recommendation.
- Catalogue status
- Educational entry
- Production scoring
- Not independently verified
- Mode
- self-report
- Typical use
- Clinician-reviewed intake
- Clinical role
- Pain-intensity rating support
Administration
A focused client experience
Pain VAS is completed as a focused self-report and stored for clinician review. This public page does not collect answers or return a score.
- One question at a time with visible progress
- Large keyboard-operable response choices
- Previous, next, and answer-review steps
- Clear confirmation that results go to the clinic
The illustration shows layout only. It does not reproduce Pain VAS item wording.
Report showcase
Designed to make evidence easy to review
The downloadable synthetic example illustrates report layout using invented response patterns, without patient data or instrument questions.
- Named instrument, version, and provenance
- Item-level response pattern without source wording
- Methodology, references, and clinical boundary
- Responsible clinician review rather than automated conclusions
Clinician review required
Methodology
Understand the measure and its scoring conventions
Published scoring conventions may exist in official materials. This public page does not independently verify scoring, cutoffs, or a production scoring rule. Use the official form and scoring instructions for the version you intend to use.
References
- Measures of adult painHawker GA et al. Measures of adult pain. Arthritis Care Res. 2011;63(S11):S240-S252.
- VAS rating rangesJensen MP, Chen C, Brugger AM. Interpretation of visual analog scale ratings and change scores. J Pain. 2003;4(7):407-414.
Questions
What clinics ask before they evaluate the VAS
These answers stay inside educational catalogue scope. They do not replace official manuals or clinician judgement.
Does a high VAS score diagnose a pain disorder?
No. It is an intensity rating. Diagnosis remains a clinician task.
Is VAS the same as NRS?
No. VAS uses a continuous line. NRS uses numbered points. They are related but not identical methods.
Can I complete a VAS here?
No. This landing is educational.
Should we use BPI instead?
BPI also captures interference. Choice of intensity method is a clinic governance decision.