OPQRST is an acronym that is very useful in the medical profession as it serves as a guide to diagnose patients and find out more about what the pain they are going through.
The acronym stands for;
Onset - with what intensity did the pain hit. In other Has it progressed steadily or remained constant.
Provocation or Palliation - have there been any external factors that aggravate the conditions?
Quality - what type of pain it is. For instance is the pain sharp, crushing, dull, etcetera. Such a question would fall under here.
Region and Radiation - Where is the pain located and does it remain there or radiate to other parts of the body as well.
Severity - Just how heavily is the pain being felt. How severe is it. Usually a scale of 1 to 10 is used with 10 being excruciating pain and 0 being no pain at all.
Time (History) - How long has the pain being going on. How often is such pain experienced if ever. The goal being to find out if it a recurring pain as well its current duration.
