title: A prospective study of pain and psychological functioning following traumatic spinal cord injury.
abstract: METHODS
  Longitudinal study.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To study prospectively pain characteristics, change in pain over time and the associations between pain and psychological functioning in adults with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Neurosurgical departments, SCI rehabilitation centres and the community.
  
  
  METHODS
  Adults with traumatic SCI admitted over a 3-year period to two neurosurgical departments underwent clinical examination and questionnaires within 3 months after injury (baseline) and at 6, 12 and 42 months following SCI. Pain intensity and interference within the last 7 days, a global quality of life (QoL) item, the 5-item Mental Health Index and the 6-item Catastrophizing scale were used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ninety individuals were recruited, of which 81 completed a telephone interview on average 3.5 (s.d., 0.6) years after the SCI. Pain was present in 75% at 3.5 years. Baseline pain catastrophizing scores did not predict pain intensity at 3.5 years. Both psychological functioning and QoL increased over time. QoL scores increased less in participants who reported an increase in pain intensity from baseline to the 3.5-year follow-up, and the change in QoL score correlated with the change in pain interference. Neuropathic pain had an onset within the first 12 months and tended to become persistent, whereas musculoskeletal pain more often had a late onset or resolved in cases of early onset.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A large proportion of SCI participants continue to experience pain many years after SCI. Teaching individuals with SCI skills to minimise pain's impact on function as soon as possible following injury may prove beneficial.
authors.affiliation: Danish Pain Research Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: N B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Finnerup
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, Danderyd Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Norrbrink
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Trok
authors.affiliation: Spinal Cord Centre of Western Denmark, Department of Neurology, Regional Hospital of Viborg, Viborg, Denmark.
authors.forename: I L
authors.initials: IL
authors.lastname: Johannesen
authors.affiliation: Danish Pain Research Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.|Department of Neurology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, Danderyd Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Werhagen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D058443:Catastrophization / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009437:Neuralgia / Q000150:complications*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D015995:Prevalence; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012047:Rehabilitation Centers; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult