A Cross Sectional Study of Spinal Cord Injury-Induced Musculoskeletal Pain

Abstract

Background:
Musculoskeletal pain is a common consequence in a person with spinal cord injury. It brings a major impact on the quality of life, making prone to complications in both the short and the long term.
Purpose: The purpose of the study to determine the spinal cord injury-induced musculoskeletal pain.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at two different reputed institutes in Dhaka city. Ninety spinal cord injury subjects were selected with their inform consent. Data were collected by face to face interview with the interviewer-administered structured questionnaire. Numerical Pain Rating Scale was used to assess the grade of musculoskeletal pain and American Spinal Injury Association scale was used to find out the types of injury. Chi-square test was used where p-value (p<0.05) indicated as the level of significance.
Results: Results indicated that more than two-third of the person with spinal cord injury complained to musculoskeletal pain. Neck, shoulder, and back were the more prevalent site of musculoskeletal pain found in this study. Road traffic accident and fall from height were the common causes of injury. Cervical and thoracic levels were the vulnerable site in person with spinal cord injury. However, there was a highly significant relationship found between the level of injury and musculoskeletal pain (p=0.001<0.05).
Conclusion: The prevalence of musculoskeletal pain is extremely high in person with spinal cord injury which is concluded in this study. Some factors like spinal levels and causes of injury are significantly accountable for musculoskeletal pain. Adequate physiotherapy might help to reduce the incidence and intensity of spinal cord injury-induced musculoskeletal pain.