Musculoskeletal pain in ambulatory patients with spinal cord injury who walking with or without walking devices: Prevalence and impact on walking speed

Abstract

Background: Musculoskeletal pain in spinal cord injury (SCI) is a common problem. However, not much research exists on the prevalence of pain in ambulatory patients with SCI walking either with or without ambulatory assistive devices (AAD). Objectives: This study aimed to explore the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain and to investigate the impact of pain on walking speed in ambulatory patients with SCI walking with or without AAD. Materials and methods: There were 86 patients with SCI who were able to walk independently with or without AAD. All the patients were evaluated for musculoskeletal pain using a visual analogue scale (VAS). Then their walking speed was assessed using a 10-meter walk test (10MWT). Results: The proportion of patients with pain was high in both groups (63% in patients using AAD and 55% in patients not using AAD). For those with AAD, the fastest walking speed was significantly different in patients with mild, moderate, and severe pain compared to patients with no pain while for those without AAD, the fastest speed was significantly different in patients with moderate and severe pain compared to patients with no pain (p<0.05). Conclusion: Musculoskeletal pain was commonly found in ambulatory patients with SCI walking with or without AAD, and this pain impacted their walking speeds. The finding of musculoskeletal pain in both patients walking with or without AAD could raise healthcare professionals’ awareness of the debilitating impact of musculoskeletal pain. Thus, the development of improved therapeutic approaches for reducing this impact is needed.