Natural history of chronic pain and pain treatment in adults with cerebral palsy.
OBJECTIVE
To determine if cerebral palsy-related pain and frequency of use of pain treatments change over time and to examine the association between use of pain treatments and changes in pain intensity.


METHODS
Longitudinal study of 50 adults with cerebral palsy-related chronic pain, interviewed five times during the course of 2 yrs (6 mos between each interview). Subjects ranged in age from 18 to 76 yrs old and included 25 women and 25 men.


RESULTS
Pain intensity did not change significantly during the time period of the study (2 yrs), although there was a substantial increase in the frequency of use of several pain treatments from the initial to the second interview. Participants reported that many pain treatments were at least moderately helpful, but only three of the treatments (whirlpool, ultrasound, and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) seemed to be associated with a decrease in pain among those who started using these treatments during the study.


CONCLUSIONS
Pain does not seem to become systematically better or worse during the course of a 2-yr time period in adults with cerebral palsy-related pain. Although several pain treatments are reported to provide pain relief, many of these were rarely used by (or provided to) the study participants. There is a need for more research to determine which pain treatments are most helpful for cerebral palsy-related pain and to increase patient accessibility to effective pain treatments.
Jensen
Mark P
MP
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98105-6490,USA.
Engel
Joyce M
JM
Hoffman
Amy J
AJ
Schwartz
Lauren
L
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000698:Analgesia / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000150:complications*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006875:Hydrotherapy / Q000592:standards; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D059408:Pain Management; D010147:Pain Measurement; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D004561:Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation / Q000592:standards; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014464:Ultrasonic Therapy / Q000592:standards
D000700:Analgesics