Iranian Journal of War and Public Health

Aims: As the worst and the most debilitating problem in the patients with spinal cord injuries, pain can result in sleep and daily life disorders, as well as disturb their quality of life in general. Therefore, it is required to measure pain in the patients to plan any treatment and rehabilitation. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and severity of different types of pain in patients with spinal cord injuries referred to Khatamol Anbia hospital in Tehran.   

Instrument & Methods: In the cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study, 248 patients with spinal cord injuries referred to Khatamol Anbia hospital in Tehran were studied in 6 months of 2015 (from March to August). The subjects were selected by Cochran’s formula via purposeful sampling. Data was collected using the international questionnaire of basic pains of patients with spinal cord injuries. Data was analyzed by SPSS 19 software using independent T test, Pearson correlation coefficient, and one-way ANOVA. 

Findings: The most prevalent pains were the neuropathic (82.25%), the musculoskeletal (81.04%), and the visceral (41.12%0, successively.  The most severe pains of the patients were the neuropathic (8.12±1.72), the musculoskeletal (6.06±1.22), and the visceral (3.88±0.89), successively. There was only a significant correlation between pain severity and gender (p<0.05).There was no significant correlation between pain severity and other demographic characteristics of the patients (p>0.05). 

Conclusion: There are prevalent and, in most cases, severe pains in patients with spinal cord injuries. The most prevalent and severe pains are the neuropathic, the musculoskeletal, and the visceral pains, in succession.