ARE WE TALKING ABOUT PAIN ALL WRONG?

AS A 20-YEAR-OLD university student, Kevin Boehnke just wanted to play ultimate frisbee to unwind. But over the course of several months, he developed a stabbing pain in his hands and wrists that made it hard — and unpleasant — to play. Soon he couldn’t even play beer pong without the intrusive hurt.

So Boehnke did what you’d probably do, too. He went to a doctor and got it diagnosed. Tendinitis, they said. Yet after several weeks of ibuprofen and physical therapy, he was still in agony. When pain started radiating into his elbows, shoulders, back and neck, Boehnke visited other doctors for more opinions.

Each one had the same numerical approach toward gauging discomfort: “Where do you fall on a scale of zero to 10? Zero being no pain and 10 being the worst you’ve ever experienced”. And no matter what he