Pain Scale for Leg Pain
No Pain
Mild Pain Level / Pain Score
Does not interfere with most activities and is easy to manage both physically and psychologically.
- Muscle sprain or strain
- Muscle cramps
Your pain is hardly noticeable and your activities of daily living are not affected.
You are aware of the pain but it is very easy to ignore.
Uncomfortable but tolerable level of pain in your leg that is noticeable but easy to forget or ignore over time.
Uncomfortable Pain Level / Pain Score
Interferes with many activities of daily living and requires changes to daily lifestyle to manage pain symptoms. Pain is more noticeable and it becomes increasingly important to seek treatments.
- Migraine pain
- Severe knee joint pain
- Severe ankle sprain
- Hamstring injury
- Growing pains
Moderate level of pain that is constantly on your mind. This pain will start as piercing but becomes dull after a period of time.
Strong deep, penetrating leg pain that makes it difficult to manage your activities of daily living. The pain becomes consistently noticeable and you become more anxious and psychologically impacted by your pain symptoms.
Intense pain that controls your mindset and psychological outlook on your body's ability to recover. Severe joint pain in the knee, thigh, calf or foot may fall into this category of pain. At this pain score, you are likely seeking clinical expertise for a diagnosis and treatment regime.
Severe Pain Level / Pain Score
At this stage you are no longer able to engage in normal activities and seeking support from a caregiver, stronger medications, are in the market for potential surgery, or are seeking less invasive surgical solutions like spinal cord stimulation to help improve your ability to function independently.
- ACL injury
- Blood clot
- Broken femur
- Bone cancer
- Chronic compartment syndrome
- Growth plate fracture
- Peripheral artery disease
- Peripheral neuropathy
- Radicular Pain
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Severe migraine
- Spinal stenosis
The level of shooting leg pain is completely dominating your mindset and outlook on recovery. You are reaching a point where your pain level is impeding your ability to operate daily functions and cognitive thinking. Management of this level of pain requires more medical expertise, prescription drugs, and the level of severity has you considering surgery (eg. spinal cord stimulation) as a treatment option.
Your pain is so intense that you can no longer think clearly and are experiencing personality changes. Your legs are experiencing shooting pain that results in numbness, tingling, and extreme discomfort where it impedes your ability to be mobile and active. Controlling this pain could be difficult as there may be neuropathic pain (nerve damage).
This level of excruciating pain is so intense that you are unable to tolerate the level of pain and are seeking stronger medications, surgery, and emergency psychological intervention to manage the pain. If you have experienced chronic pain for months, you may be considering spine surgery or less invasive spinal cord stimulation therapy to better manage your pain symptoms.
This unimaginable level is so intense you may go unconscious. This type of pain is likely incurred during a severe accident (eg. crushed leg, fractured femur) and your body is unable to recover on its own. Emergency treatment is needed.