Pain in Patients with Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of pain in patients with spinal cord injuries. Methods: Patients with traumatic spinal cord injury [73 males, 17 females] who had taken part in a rehabilitation program in our inpatient clinic were included. The American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale, McGill Pain Questionairre, Numerical Rating Scale, and the Functional Independence Measure were used to evaluate the spinal cord level of the injury, the severity of injury, the resultant pain intensity and the functional state of the study subjects. Results: The prevalence of pain was 86.7 percent in patients with spinal cord injury. The nature of the pain was neuropathic in 40 [44.4 percent] of these patients, musculoskeletal in 17 [18.9 percent] patients, and mixed origin in 21 [23.3 percent] patients. There was no apparent relationship between presence, or type of pain and level or severity of the injury [P > 0.05]. A positive relationship was observed between the extent of the injury and the severity of the pain [P = 0.012]. No relationship was found between the pain and the functional state of the patient [P > 0.05]. Conclusion: Neuropathic pain is a common clinical manifestation in patients with traumatic spinal cord injury but some also exhibited a musculoskeletal component. The severity of the pain is related to the extent of the spinal cord injury but not to the functional state.