Keeping a Pain Diary
Learn how to keep a pain diary to track symptoms, spot triggers, and manage pain more effectively with simple tips and practical guidance.
Tracking how you feel day to day can make a big difference in understanding and managing pain. Here’s a clear, easy-to-follow guide on how to keep a pain diary, and what you’ll gain from it.
Why Keeping a Pain Diary Can Help You Manage Pain
- See the patterns in your pain and pinpoint triggers or helpful activities. As Versus Arthritis notes, a pain diary can help you understand your condition better and serves as a helpful record to share with your healthcare team1.
- Gain control and clarity. Writing your thoughts and symptoms can be cathartic and empowering, especially during tough days.
- Support better healthcare decisions. NHS resources highlight that activity diaries can help you and your doctor identify triggers for flare-ups and guide better treatment choices2.
Privacy note: The information you record in your pain diary is for your personal use only. We do not collect, store, or have access to any information you enter into the diary.
Download your interactive pain diary below
How to Start a Pain Diary: Simple Steps to Begin Tracking
You can use whichever format suits you best, a notebook, an app, or a simple notes file on your phone.
Here’s what to include, with times and dates where possible:
- Pain intensity: Rate how you feel on a simple scale (e.g., 0 = no pain, 10 = worst pain).
- Location: Where does it hurt? Be as specific as you can.
- What you were doing: Were you walking, sitting, gardening, working, or treating the pain?
- Activities or triggers: Note anything that seemed to make pain better or worse.
- Mood or emotions: How did the pain affect your mood or stress levels?
- Sleep or energy levels: Note whether you slept well or felt tired.
- Medication or relief tried: What did you try to help, and did it help?
Tips for Using Your Pain Diary Effectively for Better Insights
- Stick to a routine: Try to write at the same times each day (morning, midday and evening) to get an accurate record3.
- Review it regularly: Look back to notice what is helping you (or not) and share these insights with your healthcare provider1.
A pain diary is a simple but powerful step to help you stay in tune with your body and spot helpful or harmful patterns.
Looking for a simple, interactive pain diary?
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