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Updated: Oct 5, 2026
A Contusive Model of Unilateral Cervical Spinal Cord Injury Using the Infinite Horizon Impactor
Published on: July 24, 2012
Quality of life after spinal cord injury caused by gunshot
J D Putzke1, J S Richards, M J DeVivo
1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Objective:
To determine what effect gunshot-caused spinal cord injury (SCI) has on self-reported quality of life (QOL) and on the frequency of pain sufficient to interfere with day-to-day activities.
Design:
Follow-up, case-control design.
Setting:
Analysis of data obtained from the (US) National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center from 18 funded Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems.
Participants:
Individuals with traumatic onset SCI (n = 1901). From these, 111 persons with gunshot-caused SCI were matched to persons with nongunshot SCI.
Main Outcome Measures:
Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), the Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique (CHART), Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12), and an individual pain item from the SF-12.
Results:
No between-group differences were found on any of the QOL outcome measures. In contrast, those with SCI caused by gunshot reported that pain more frequently interfered with day-to-day activities than the matched comparison group.
Conclusions:
SCI caused by gunshot appears largely unrelated to QOL, after controlling for demographic and medical characteristics associated with this group. Gunshot as a mechanism of SCI may place individuals at an increased risk of subsequent development of pain that interferes with activities of daily living.
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