Pain following spinal cord injury: the impact on community reintegration

Abstract

Study design: Prospective, correlational. Objectives: (1) Describe how pain changes over recovery from admission to spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation, discharge and after 6 months of community living and (2) examine the relationship between pain and community integration at 6 months of community living. Setting: Tertiary rehabilitation centre, SCI unit, Vancouver, Canada. Methods: Subjects from 66 consecutive admissions to the SCI Program of a tertiary rehabilitation centre for the treatment of a traumatic SCI during the years 2000-2002 were followed using data from the National Rehabilitation Reporting System (NRS). Information was obtained from NRRS standardized assessments performed on admission, discharge and 6 months of community living. Early community living was defined as 6 months postdischarge. Community reintegration was assessed by the Reintegration to Normal Living Index (RNL). Pain presence, pain impact and pain intensity were assessed using single item Likhert-type scales. Results: In all, 86% of individuals with a SCI reported pain at 6 months postdischarge, with 27% of these individuals reporting pain that impacted on many or most activities. Pain impact and pain intensity were related to the community reintegration (r ¼ À0.39 and À0.55, Po0.001), with pain intensity accounting for 25% of the variance in RNL scores. Conclusions: Pain is a major consequence of a SCI, impacting on an individual's activities and perception of how well they are integrated into the community. The results of this study highlight the need to address pain during both the rehabilitation phase of treatment and the early transition into the community.Spinal Cord (2005) 43, 278-282.

Pain after paraplegia: a survey in India

“…14 Another factor could be psycho-social stresses. 10 Pain in the back and chest was seen in all the groups especially in the group that were 1-o6 months after injury. As stated earlier, the majority of subjects in the study fell into this age group.…”

“…Pain impact and pain intensity were related to community reintegration. 10 As there has been no structured nationwide study reporting this aspect in India, the prevalence of this problem in India is unclear. There is a need to understand the effect of demographics on pain, so that preventive measures can be taken before its occurrence.…”

Parameters for positive outcome of the in-hospital rehabilitation of spinal cord lesion patients: the Boberg Quality Score

“…The parameter pain has proven to be of high importance in the post-hospital stages of the rehabilitation process. 15 For the parameter 'sleep' it can be stated that it is clearly influenced by the parameter's pain and emotion. Insofar this parameter can be abandoned from a quality scoring system.…”

“…2,1,[3][4][5][6][7] Other studies focus on the importance of related symptoms such as pain, psychosocial problems and loss of energy in the rehabilitation patient or the compliance of the patient is seen as a main outcome factor. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] Studies researching the social reintegration mainly focus on occupational situation, living conditions and quality of life. [18][19][20][21][22][23][24] A multi-dimensionally measuring test device, internationally usable and applicable for inpatients as well as outpatients is thereby currently lacking.…”

A multi-centre study of the community needs of people with spinal cord injuries: the first 18 months

“…Kennedy et al 6 found that 25-45% of people with SCI experience persistent pain. In one study 27% of the 86% of participants who reported pain found it to negatively impact on activity participation 7,8 and have a negative impact on psychological affect and activities in daily living.…”