Pain and life quality within 2 years of spinal cord injury

The prevalence and classification of pain were investigated in 46 patients admitted consecutively with traumatic spinal cord injury to a rehabilitation hospital. All were studied within 2 years of trauma. Forty-six percent experienced pain of moderate-to-severe intensity. The patients with pain were classified into five categories: diffuse pain, segmental pain, root pain, visceral pain and non-neurogenic pain. Most patients experienced more than one type of pain. Pain appeared more intense in the evening than in the morning or at noon. Older age (median 40 years vs 24 years) was related to increased prevalence of pain. Significantly more patients with pain (70%) than without pain (24%) had a case-score on the 20-item version of the General Health Questionnaire, indicating psychological distress and reduced quality of life. The present study indicates that pain causes emotional distress in addition to the distress associated with the spinal cord injury itself.