McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ)

Description

The McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) is an instrument used to quantify the perceived location, type, and magnitude of pain. It was developed by Dr. Melzack at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

The questionnaire can be used to monitor pain over time and to assess the effectiveness of an intervention.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the MPQ is the systematic and multidimensional assessment of the pain experience.

The instrument allows researchers and clinicians to assess not only pain intensity but also qualitative characteristics of pain, providing information that may be used for both clinical monitoring and statistical analysis.

Questionnaire Structure

According to the provided material, the structure of the MPQ is based on three dimensions of pain:

Sensory-discriminative dimension, referring to the sensory characteristics of the pain experience.

Affective dimension, referring to the emotional component associated with pain.

Cognitive evaluation, referring to the way in which the individual perceives and evaluates the overall pain experience.

Content and Scoring

The MPQ consists of 78 descriptive words representing different characteristics of pain. These descriptors are organized into groups, and the patient selects from each group the word that best describes the pain being experienced.

The source document states that the selected descriptors are rated from:

0 = No pain

to

3 = Severe pain,

and that the total score is considered an index of pain assessment.

Statistical Analysis

Questionnaire scores can be used to provide a quantitative representation of the pain experience and may be subjected to further statistical analysis.

The multidimensional nature of the instrument allows different aspects of pain to be examined and may support the investigation of changes occurring over time or following an intervention.

Validity and Reliability

The MPQ is used to assess both acute and chronic pain. The source material emphasizes that appropriate administration requires good cooperation with the patient and adequate understanding of the meaning of the descriptive terms.

Through its multidimensional assessment approach, the questionnaire provides quantified measures of clinical pain that can be used for statistical purposes.

Greek Adaptation

The provided document states that the McGill Pain Questionnaire has been adapted into Greek by K. Mystakidou, E. Parpa, E. Tsilika, O. Kalaidopoulou, S. Georgaki, A. Galanos, and L. Vlachos.

This adaptation supports the use of the instrument with Greek-speaking populations in clinical and research settings where systematic pain assessment is required.

Applications

The MPQ may be used for:

the assessment of pain intensity and qualitative characteristics,

monitoring pain symptoms over time,

comparing pain experiences before and after an intervention,

and collecting quantitative data for research and statistical analysis.

Its ability to capture multiple dimensions of the pain experience is one of the key features of the instrument.

References

Melzack R, Raja SN. The McGill Pain Questionnaire: From description to measurement. Anesthesiology. 2005;103(1):199–202.

Greek adaptation: Mystakidou K, Parpa E, Tsilika E, Kalaidopoulou O, Georgaki S, Galanos A, Vlachos L.