In the pain assessment framework OPQRST, Radiation asks:

• A. When did the pain begin?
• B. What does the pain feel like?
• C. Where does it hurt and does it spread to other areas?
• D. How bad is the pain on a scale of 1 to 10?

Answer: (C)

Radiation in the OPQRST framework is about where the pain is and whether it travels to other areas. This helps you understand the origin and seriousness of the condition, since some problems show a pattern of spreading pain. For example, chest pain that radiates to the left arm, jaw, or back can point to cardiac ischemia, which needs swift assessment, whereas localized pain that doesn’t spread has a different implication. The other aspects—when it began (onset), what the pain feels like (quality), and how bad it is on a 1–10 scale (severity)—address different dimensions of the experience, not the spread of pain. Therefore, asking where it hurts and whether it spreads precisely matches the Radiation component.