Pain following spinal cord injury

Abstract

Some patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) complain of severe pain. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and classification of SCI-related pain, in terms of severity, location, aggravating and alleviating factors. 47 SCI individuals were studied between 15 and 67 years of age. Sixty-one percent of subjects experienced pain of moderate to severe intensity. 32 subjects complained of pain in the lower limbs, five patients had pain in the visceral region, eight in the pelvic and perineal areas. The pain duration was for a median of 5 weeks. The patients with pain were older (median 41 years) than those without pain (median 23 years). Pain was reported to be more intense in the evening and at night. The incidence of pain was higher in patients with thoracolumbar and incomplete spinal cord lesions. Inactivity, stress, weather change, overactivity were identified as aggravating factors. Sleep and rest were demonstrated as alleviating factors.