Pain after paraplegia: a survey in India.
METHODS
A postal survey.


OBJECTIVE
To ascertain the incidence of pain in individuals with paraplegia in India and to associate it with demographic characteristics.


METHODS
India.


METHODS
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.


CONCLUSIONS
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.
Gupta
N
N
Department of Physiotherapy, College of Applied Education and Health Sciences, Meerut, India. nals235@yahoo.co.in
Solomon
J
J
Raja
K
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D010264:Paraplegia / Q000150:complications* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D011788:Quality of Life; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000534:rehabilitation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013995:Time; D055815:Young Adult