Iranian Journal of War and Public Health

Back ground: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating condition often affecting young and healthy individuals around the world. This debilitating condition not only creates enormous physical and emotional cost to individuals but also is a significant financial burden to society at large. Iran-Iraq war left 140 quadriplegic veterans with cervical SCIs who are commonly suffering with varios musculoskeletal complications and this study was undertaken to understand them. Method and material: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 44 quadriplegic veterans who attended a ping pong recreational programme in the Island of Kish in 2003. All of the subjects were interviewed and examined by a trained physical therapist and 2 questionnaires (demographic & examination questionnaires) were completed. Data was analyzed using SPSS software. Results: The subjects were all men with a mean age of 39 years and the mean of duration of their spinal cord injury was18 years. All of the subjects were wheelchair bound. Pain, especially shoulder pain was the most common subjective complaint, and contracture, spasm and DIM were the commonest findings in physical examinations. Conclusion: Based upon these findings, it is clear that screening programmes and periodic evaluation of quadriplegic patients in Iran are of priority for early diagnosis and prevention of severe complications.