Pain after paraplegia: A survey in India

Study design:A postal survey.Objective:To ascertain the incidence of pain in individuals with paraplegia in India and to associate it with demographic characteristics.Setting:India.Method:The study was done by means of a questionnaire. This questionnaire was mailed to the identified individuals (n=600) on the addresses obtained from the medical records section of hospitals and from various organizations. Data analysis was done by using non-parametric tests of association.Results:The return rate was 46% (276/600). Fifty-seven percent of individuals complained of pain. Of this, pain in the back and chest ranked the highest (30.1%), followed by pain below the level of lesion (6.9%), pain in the shoulder and upper limb (4.7%) and neck (0.4%). Fifteen percent of individuals complained of pain at multiple sites. We found a significant association of pain with age, duration since injury and ambulation.Conclusion: More than half of the subjects complained of pain in the study. Pain was found to be associated with age, duration since injury and ambulation. As pain has a dramatic effect on a subjects' quality of life, there is a need to evaluate it in detail and treat accordingly with preventive, rehabilitative or surgical procedures.