How do you measure pain?

Measuring pain is extremely difficult. One of the commonly-used methods is to ask patients to rate their pain or discomfort on a zero-to-ten scale.

But can patients really assess their own pain? Do some patients inflate their pain rating? And how much does this reliance on patient self-reporting contribute to the crisis of over-prescribing painkillers?

MPR News Host Marianne Combs spoke with two guests about the psychology of pain: Dr. Charles Reznikoff, an addiction specialist at Hennepin County Medical Center, and Dominik Mischkowski, visiting assistant professor in Psychology at Ohio University.

Use the audio player above to listen to the discussion.