• Marta Badia, Inmaculada Riquelme, Begoña Orgaz, Raquel Acevedo, Egmar Longo, and Pedro Montoya.
• Research Institute on Health Sciences (IUNICS), University of Balearic Islands, Carretera de Valldemossa km 7,5, 07122 Palma, Spain. pedro.montoya@uib.es.
• Bmc Pediatr. 2014 Jan 1;14:192.

BackgroundChildren and adolescents with cerebral palsy suffer from higher levels of pain than their peers without disability. The aim of this study was to explore the impact of pain on health-related quality of life and motor function in individuals with cerebral palsy as reported by health professionals.MethodsCross-sectional study carried out in Associations for Care of Individuals with Cerebral Palsy and Related Disabilities (ASPACE) in Balearic Islands and Castile Leon (Spain). Thirty-five physiotherapists rated pain, health-related quality of life and motor function in 91 children and adolescents with cerebral palsy [8-19y]. A semi-structured interview was used to collect demographic and clinical data according with the Study of Participation of Children with Cerebral Palsy Living in Europe (SPARCLE).ResultsPhysiotherapists reported that 51% of individuals with cerebral palsy suffered from pain. Physiotherapists also perceived that pain in individuals with cerebral palsy was responsible for reductions of psychological but not physical domains of health-related quality of life. According with physiotherapists' estimations, motor impairment scores were not correlated with pain scores in individuals with cerebral palsy, but they were significantly associated with physical and autonomy domains of health-related quality of life.ConclusionsThese findings highlighted the importance of assessing and providing interventions for pain relief in persons with cerebral palsy even at an early age.

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