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Provoking Factors and Quality of Pain

Author: Sophia

what's covered
In this lesson, you will begin learning the Spanish questions necessary to assess a patient’s pain, as well the most common patient responses to those questions. Specifically, this lesson will cover:
  1. La Evaluación del Dolor (Pain Assessment)
  2. Factores Causantes (Provoking Factors)
  3. La Calidad (Quality)

before you start
Watch the following video to get a preview of the vocabulary you will be learning in this lesson. You will have a chance to practice this material later, once you have progressed through the lesson.

1. La Evaluación del Dolor (Pain Assessment)

When assessing a patient's pain, you need to learn certain phrases that will enable you to determine the quality of the pain. The chart below includes these phrases and questions, as well as some typical patient responses.

Note that the questions that you will ask will have a pronunciation guide. You will not be given a pronunciation guide for patient responses as they are not phrases that you would say, but rather responses from your patient. Simply review them.

English Spanish Pronunciation
Are you in pain? ¿Tiene dolor? tee-ay-nay doe-lore
Yes. / No. Sí. / No. This is a patient response.
Where is your pain? ¿Dónde siente el dolor? doan-day see-ain-tay ale doe-lore
Here. Aquí. This is a patient response.
In my head. En mi cabeza. This is a patient response.
In my stomach. En mi estómago. This is a patient response.
Can you point to where it hurts? ¿Me puede señalar dónde le duele? may p’way-day sane-yah-lar doan-day lay d’way-lay
Please point to the area with one finger. Por favor, señale el área con un dedo. pour fah-boar sane-yah-lay ale ah-ray-ah cone oon day-doe


2. Factores Causantes (Provoking Factors)

You also need some phrases that will help you determine the factors that are causing the patient's pain. Again, the chart below includes both phrases and questions you will say and the patient's potential responses.

English Spanish Pronunciation
What makes the pain start? ¿Qué hace que su dolor comience? kay ah-say kay soo doe-lore koh-mee-ain-say
What makes the pain worse? ¿Qué hace empeorar su dolor? kay ah-say aim-pay-oh-rahr soo doe-lore
Where is your pain? ¿Dónde siente el dolor? doan-day see-ain-tay ale doe-lore
It hurts when I eat. Me duele cuando como.
OR
Al comer me duele.
This is a patient response.
It hurts when I drink. Me duele cuando tomo/bebo.
OR
Al tomar/beber me duele.
This is a patient response.
It hurts when I’m stressed. Me duele cuando estoy estresado/a.
OR
Me duele cuando tengo el estrés.
This is a patient response.
It hurts when I work. Me duele cuando trabajo.
OR
Al trabajar me duele.
This is a patient response.
It hurts when I lift things. Me duele cuando levanto algo.
OR
Al levantar algo me duele.
This is a patient response.
It hurts when I sit down. Me duele cuando me siento. This is a patient response.
It hurts when I stand up. Me duele cuando me levanto. This is a patient response.
It hurts when I lie down / go to bed. Me duele cuando me tiendo / me acuesto. This is a patient response.
It always hurts. Me duele siempre. This is a patient response.
I don’t know (what makes the pain start / makes the pain worse). No sé. This is a patient response.
There’s no specific cause. No hay ninguna causa específica. This is a patient response.
What makes the pain better? ¿Qué hace mejorar su dolor? kay ah-say may-ho-rahr soo doe-lore
medicine la medicina This is a patient response.
ice el hielo This is a patient response.
heat el calor This is a patient response.
rest el descanso This is a patient response.
change of position el cambio de posición This is a patient response.


3. La Calidad (Quality)

Finally, you will need to know how to determine the quality of a patient's pain. The phrases in the chart below will be helpful in this context.

English Spanish Pronunciation
Can you describe the pain? ¿Puede describir el dolor? p’way-day day-scree-beer ale doe-lohr
Is it throbbing? ¿Es un dolor pulsátil? ace oon doe-lore pool-sah-teel
Is it dull? ¿Es un dolor vago? ace oon doe-lore bah-go
Is it stabbing? ¿Es un dolor punzante? ace oon doe-lore poo-sahn-tay
Is it sharp? ¿Es un dolor agudo? ace oon doe-lore ah-goo-dah
Is it burning? ¿Es un dolor que lo quema? ace oon doe-lore kay lo kay-mah
Is it crushing? ¿Es fuertísimo? ace f’ware-tee-see-moe
Is it shooting? ¿Es un dolor de balacera? ace oon doe-lore day bah-lah-say-rah
Is it aching? ¿Es un dolor muy doloroso? ace oon doe-lore moo-ee doe-lo-row-so
Is it cramping? ¿Es un dolor con calambres? ace oon doe-lore cone kah-lahm-brace
Is it numb? ¿Es un dolor dormido? ace oon doe-lore door-mee-doe
Is it tender? ¿Es un dolor sensible? ace oon doe-lore sane-see-blay
Yes. / No. Sí. / No. This is a patient response.

try it
Now that you have learned this vocabulary, use the video below to practice interacting with a patient.

summary
In this lesson, you learned some important vocabulary that will help you assess a patient's pain in Spanish based on the provoking factors and quality of the pain. This vocabulary provides an important foundation, as the later lessons in this course will teach you how to discuss the use of specific medications and other pain management options with patients.

¡Buena suerte!

Support

If you are struggling with a concept or terminology in the course, you may contact SpanishforNursesSupport@capella.edu for assistance.

If you are having technical issues, please contact learningcoach@sophia.org.

Source: This content has been adapted from "Spanish for Nurses" by Stephanie Langston.