SynthesisJMIR mHealth and uHealth2019
From Paper to Digital Applications of the Pain Drawing: Systematic Review of Methodological Milestones.
Synthesis in JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- [Short paths to diagnosis with artificial intelligence: systematic literature review on diagnostic decision support systems].Schmerz (Berlin, Germany) · 2024Pooled it
- Digital manikins to self-report pain on a smartphone: A systematic review of mobile apps.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2021Pooled it
- The use of abstract animations and a graphical body image for assessing pain outcomes among adults with sickle cell disease.The journal of pain · 2025Trial
- Does 25(OH)D deficiency affect muscle elasticity, physical function, pain, and quality of life? A shear-wave elastography-based cross-sectional study.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2026Article
- A Systematic Review of Pain Drawings for Perioperative Patient Management.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2026Article
- Sex Representation and User Preferences in Pain Drawing Body Charts in Back Pain Research: Multimethod Study.JMIR human factors · 2026Article
- When somatic attention creates sensation: a new class of bodily experience.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Article
- Digital pain diagrams to identify common lumbar spinal stenosis pain distribution patterns: a cross-sectional latent class analysis.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2025Article
- Summary and Analysis of Digital Pain Manikin Data in Adults With Pain Experience: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- The Application of Painting in the Intervention of Children's Psychological Issues in China: A Narrative Review.Iranian journal of public health · 2025Review
- The current state of digital manikins to support pain self-reporting: a systematic literature review.Pain reports · 2025Review
- Exploring the association between patient-drawn pain diagrams and psychological and physical health variables: A large-scale study of patients with low back pain.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2025Article
- Spatial Distribution Dynamics of Sensory Disturbances in the Treatment of Obesity-Related Meralgia Paresthetica Using Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Types, method, and mode of implementation of pain/symptom maps in musculoskeletal pain rehabilitation: A scoping review protocol.PloS one · 2025Article
- Automated Pain Spots Recognition Algorithm Provided by a Web Service-Based Platform: Instrument Validation Study.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2024Article
- Sex-specific differences in pain localization in female patients with endometriosis: A comparison of sexless and female human body outlines.Brain and behavior · 2023Article
- A diagnostic support system based on pain drawings: binary and k-disease classification of EDS, GBS, FSHD, PROMM, and a control group with Pain2D.Orphanet journal of rare diseases · 2023Article
- Anterior Electronic Hip Pain Drawings Are Helpful for Diagnosis of Intra-articular Sources of Pain: Lateral or Posterior Drawings Are Unreliable.Arthroscopy, sports medicine, and rehabilitation · 2023Article
- Visualizing and quantifying spatial and qualitative pain sensations.Scandinavian journal of pain · 2022Article
- 'Painting my pain': the use of pain drawings to assess multisite pain in women with primary dysmenorrhea.BMC women's health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn a pain drawing (PD), the patient shades or marks painful areas on an illustration of the human body. This simple yet powerful tool captures essential aspects of the subjective pain experience, such as localization, intensity, and distribution of pain, and enables the extraction of meaningful information, such as pain area, widespreadness, and segmental pattern. Starting as a simple pen-on-paper tool, PDs are now sophisticated digital health applications paving the way for many new and exciting basic translational and clinical applications.
objectiveGrasping the full potential of digital PDs and laying the groundwork for future medical PD apps requires an understanding of the methodological developments that have shaped our current understanding of uses and design. This review presents methodological milestones in the development of both pen-on-paper and digital PDs, thereby offering insight into future possibilities created by the transition from paper to digital.
methodsWe conducted a systematic literature search covering PD acquisition, conception of PDs, PD analysis, and PD visualization.
resultsThe literature search yielded 435 potentially relevant papers, from which 53 methodological milestones were identified. These milestones include, for example, the grid method to quantify pain area, the pain-frequency maps, and the use of artificial neural networks to facilitate diagnosis.
conclusionsDigital technologies have had a significant influence on the evolution of PDs, whereas their versatility is leading to ever new applications in the field of medical apps and beyond. In this process, however, there is a clear need for better standardization and a re-evaluation of methodological and technical limitations that no longer apply today.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.