Pain symptom profiles in persons with spinal cord injury

Persistent pain is a common consequence of spinal cord injury. A patient-specific assessment that combines both the identification of pain symptoms and psychosocial factors is needed for a tailored treatment approach. The aim of the study was to define pain symptom profiles and to determine their relationship with psychosocial factors in persons with spinal cord injury.

Face-to-face interview and examination.

VA Medical Center and Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, Miami, Florida.

Persons with spinal cord injury (135 men and 21 women) provided detailed descriptions of 330 neuropathic pains.

The American Spinal Injury Impairment Scale, pain history and measures of pain interference, life satisfaction, locus of control, social support and depression.

The exploratory factor analyses and regression analyses revealed three distinct symptom profiles: 1) aching, throbbing pain, aggravated by cold weather and constipation predicted by a combination of chance locus of control and lower levels of life satisfaction; 2) stabbing, penetrating, and constant pain of high intensity predicted by a combination of pain interference, localized pain, powerful others locus of control and depressed mood; and 3) burning, electric, and stinging pain aggravated by touch and muscle spasms predicted by pain interference.

Although these results need to be replicated in other spinal cord injury samples, our findings suggest that pain symptom profiles may be a useful way to further characterize pain in a comprehensive assessment strategy.