Abstract
BackgroundPain after spinal cord injury (SCI) is common and is likely to continue throughout life with varying levels of severity.ObjectiveTo determine the presence of pain, the sociodemographic and injury profile of community-dwelling manual wheelchair users.MethodThis quantitative correlational study used a sociodemographic and injury profile sheet and the Douleur Neuropathique 4 Questions (DN4) questionnaire to document demographic, SCI profiles as well as pain characteristics. Pain severity was determined using the Numeric Rating Scale. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) v27 at 0.05 level of significance.ResultsThe pain rate was 104; 85% of 122 participants and mainly in those with complete SCI (77.9%). Neuropathic pain was more common (76; 62.5%) and significantly associated (p < 0.05) with higher pain severity. Pain was mainly in one area of the body (59; 48.4%) but occurring in up to five areas. The most painful area had a mean severity of 6.7/10; was more common in the lower limbs below the injury level (48; 39.4%); and was burning in nature (40; 32.7%).ConclusionsPain after SCI is as problematic in the South African context as it is globally. With the rising SCI prevalence in the country, understanding pain and its presentation is important for holistic management of a person with SCI.Clinical implicationsIn-depth assessment of pain should be conducted and appropriate management interventions for specific pain types be prescribed to effectively reduce pain.
Highlights
There is a high prevalence of secondary health conditions (SHCs) in community-dwelling people with spinal cord injury (SCI), with chronic pain being among the leading SHCs (Brinkhof et al 2016; Piatt et al 2016)
The aim of our study is to present the presence of pain, with specific objectives being to determine the presence of musculoskeletal and neuropathic pain as well as determine the sociodemographic and injury profile of communitydwelling manual wheelchair users with pain
A total of 122 manual wheelchair users with SCI participated in our study
Summary
There is a high prevalence of secondary health conditions (SHCs) in community-dwelling people with spinal cord injury (SCI), with chronic pain being among the leading SHCs (Brinkhof et al 2016; Piatt et al 2016). The actual prevalence rate of SCI-related pain is highly variable, with reported rates between 26% and 96% (Cohen et al 2018) because of the varying types of pain, as well as other factors such as injury profiles. The most common types of pain that PWSCI report are nociceptive and neuropathic pain. Musculoskeletal pain is the most common nociceptive pain with 59% of PWSCI reporting this and the pain http://www.sajp.co.za. Pain after spinal cord injury (SCI) is common and is likely to continue throughout life with varying levels of severity
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