| McGill Pain Questionnaire | |
| Synonyms: | McGill Pain Index |
| Purpose: | scale to rate pain |
The McGill Pain Questionnaire, also known as McGill Pain Index, is a scale of rating pain developed at McGill University by Melzack and Torgerson in 1971.[1] It is a self-report questionnaire that allows individuals to give their doctor a good description of the quality and intensity of pain that they are experiencing. The users are presented with a list of 78 words in 20 sections that are related to pain.[2] The users mark the words that best describe their pain (multiple markings are allowed). Among the words, sections of these words signify different components of pain, namely, Sensory (sections 1-10), Affective (sections 11-15), Evaluative (section 16), and Miscellaneous (sections 17-20).[1]
According to the European Medicines Agency it is the most frequently used measurement tool for multidimensional pain assessment in chronic pain.[3]
| Group | Words | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flickering, Pulsing, Quivering, Throbbing, Beating, Pounding | |
| 2 | Jumping, Flashing, Shooting | |
| 3 | Pricking, Boring, Drilling, Stabbing | |
| 4 | Sharp, Cutting, Lacerating | |
| 5 | Pinching, Pressing, Gnawing, Cramping, Crushing | |
| 6 | Tugging, Pulling, Wrenching | |
| 7 | Hot, Burning, Scalding, Searing | |
| 8 | Tingling, Itchy, Smarting, Stinging | |
| 9 | Dull, Sore, Hurting, Aching, Heavy | |
| 10 | Tender, Taut (tight), Rasping, Splitting | |
| 11 | Tiring, Exhausting | |
| 12 | Sickening, Suffocating | |
| 13 | Fearful, Frightful, Terrifying | |
| 14 | Punishing, Grueling, Cruel, Vicious, Killing | |
| 15 | Wretched, Blinding | |
| 16 | Annoying, Troublesome, Miserable, Intense, Unbearable | |
| 17 | Spreading, Radiating, Penetrating, Piercing | |
| 18 | Tight, Numb, Squeezing, Drawing, Tearing | |
| 19 | Cool, Cold, Freezing | |
| 20 | Nagging, Nauseating, Agonizing, Dreadful, Torturing |