Are Your Pain Management Goals Measurable?
How much? Setting an exact number here gives you a measuring stick and a target to shoot for. Comparing that number to where you’re at now gives you an easy way to identify your progress toward that goal.
For my goal, "how much", is a baseline of 5. Since I am starting at the excruciating level of 9-10, I will give myself benchmarks. I don’t expect to be 10 on day one and 5 on day two. I do expect that at week 3 or 4 I can be 8, at week 5 or 6 I can be 7, and so on and so on.
As I speak about baseline of pain, fatigue and other symptoms, as I refer to numbers like 5, 7, 10, you might be wondering what I’m talking about. Well, for as long as I can remember, physicians and healthcare providers have been using something called the Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale. This scale was originally adopted for children but somehow got accepted into adult diagnostics. I've never really felt comfortable as a person with the chronic pain, fatigue, and stiffness of FM using this scale because I felt it concentrates on mood or emotions more than on physical sensation or limitations.
Click here to read more about pain rating scales.
How many? How many other goals [must or can be achieved] in order to achieve this goal?
In order to achieve my goal of getting my Fibromyalgia symptoms and comorbid conditions back to a baseline of 5, I have an additional 3 goals to achieve. They are:
Being able to ride the NuStep for 10 minutes,
Doing two sets of 15 reps with 10 pounds of weights on the abductor, adductor and leg extension machines, and,
Doing 10 minutes on the Pilates machine
Of course, I’m not talking about doing all these exercises on the same day.
How will I know when it is accomplished? A number representing your goal that can be easily measured at any time.
When I am able to:
ride the NuStep for 10 minutes without increasing pain or fatigue, and, without stopping to rest or stretch my legs,
do two sets of 15 reps with 10 pounds of weights on the abductor, adductor and leg extension machines without increasing my pain or fatigue,
do 10 minutes on the Pilates machine without increasing my pain or fatigue, and, without stopping to rest or stretch my arms or legs,
I will know that I have accomplished my sub-goals. I will know when I have accomplished my main goal when I can say that my pain and other symptoms are at a severity level of 5 or less.
Is for Measurable
So how measurable are my goals?
I want to:
ride the NuStep for 10 minutes,
do two sets of 15 reps with 10 pounds of weights on the abductor, adductor and leg extension machines,
do 10 minutes on the Pilates machine,
These are all measurable goals. The NuStep is a machine used in physical therapy and medical fitness. It has an onboard timer so I will be able to tell when I have achieved 10 minutes. I will have to use a stopwatch or timer when I use the pilates reformer because it does not have one attached. As for the other machines, again they are available in the physical therapy and medical fitness center. Each machine has attached weights in increments of 10 and a starter weight at 5 pounds. Along with my physical therapist, I will be in control of how many reps and sets I perform and of the amount of weight involved. As I get more acclimated, I can add weights, reps, and sets until I reach my goal.
Yep, they're measurable.
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